Skip to main content
Playlist Chinatown

Chinatown

Chinatown's First Cocktail Bar Celebrates Lunar New Year with Cocktail Versions of Asian Food

Daniel Hautzinger

Nine Bar is celebrating Lunar New Year with cocktails inspired by Asian dishes like fried sesame balls and tom kha kai, along with food from acclaimed Filipino restaurant Kasama. The bar was born out of pop-ups that orginally began as Lunar New Year's celebrations.

A Reduced But Still Joyous Lunar New Year in Chicago

Daniel Hautzinger

Neither Chinatown nor Asia on Argyle are hosting parades for the Lunar New Year on February 12, but they will still host COVID-19-safe celebrations. Learn about those and some Lunar New Year traditions here.

The Park That Brought Green Space to Chinatown

Meredith Francis

For decades, Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood didn't have a park or any significant green space. Roughly 20 years ago, that changed. Get to know the story of Ping Tom Park, one of the city's hidden gems.

The Chinese Exclusion Act and Chicago

Daniel Hautzinger

With the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned all Chinese immigration and naturalization, many Chinese immigrants began moving eastward to towns like Chicago, where they slowly cemented a presence despite the demographic restrictions of the Act. 

The Chinese New Year Begins

Daniel Hautzinger

It's the most important holiday for Chinese people across the globe and spurs the largest human migration in the world. What are some of the traditions, superstitions, and symbols associated with the fifteen days of celebration?

Chicago's Oldest Continuously Operated Chinese Restaurant Closes

Daniel Hautzinger

Won Kow was opened in 1928, only a couple of decades after Chicago's Chinatown moved from the Loop to the Southwest Side. It was a favorite of Al Capone, according to legend, and served as a barely changing anchor of the neighborhood.
Subscribe to Chinatown