Chinatown

Revolving around the intersection of Cermak and Wentworth Avenues, Chicago's Chinatown is one of the nation's largest ethnic-Chinese neighborhoods. Chinatown wasn't always located in this spot, though. Looking to escape the "rampant discrimination and anti-Chinese riots" on the west coast, Chinese immigrants first arrived in Chicago in 1870 after the transcontinental railroad was completed. Settling around the area of Clark and Van Buren, these new Chicagoans were quick to set up shop. "16 Chinese-owned businesses were located along the two-block stretch" by 1889, "including eight grocery stores, two butcher shops and a restaurant." Discrimination and rising rents forced the bulk of these Chinese settlers to move south to the current location of Chinatown in the early 1900s. Since then, the neighborhood, with its restaurants, shops, Chinese-inspired architecture, landmarks and other amenities that cater to those interested in the Chinese culture, has been a destination for new immigrants, locals and tourists alike.