Chinatown

城市概覽

Chicago's Chinatown is pleasantly authentic. At the many restaurants in the area, local Chinese customers are joined by Chicagoans from all over the city "going Chinese" for the night. Chicago's Chinatown is the third largest in the United States, the Midwestern business center for Chinese-Americans, and home to large populations of Cantonese and Taiwanese. The main street, Wentworth Ave, is a great place for dining out and rummaging through eccentric stores, looking for gifts. Guaranteed Rate Field, better known as Comiskey Park, is several blocks south of Chinatown and is home to the South Side's favorite baseball team, the Chicago White Sox. Bridgeport is a large historically Irish-American enclave that has produced some of Chicago's most famous South Side Irish, such as Finley Peter Dunne and the two mayors Daley. Being the birthplace of the city's power brokers has been good to Bridgeport. The first Daley remembered playing in the streets as a child, dodging fetid puddles filled with carcasses from the local slaughterhouses. The Daleys in many ways fitted the mould of the stereotypical Chicago politician, being known for their corruption and ties to organized crime during their terms in office. Bungalows and other single-family homes are more the norm these days. Bridgeport is now seeing a large influx of Mexican and Chinese immigrants, which means more good food options are springing up left and right, and has even seen a wave of North Siders priced out of hip neighborhoods like Wicker Park and Lincoln Park. Notable recent immigrants are international acclaimed painters, the Zhou brothers, Da Huang and Shan Zuo, who purchased five large buildings along Morgan Street with the hopes to encourage more art and artists in Bridgeport. Regardless of what brings you to the neighborhood, it is full of gritty character (and characters) and is quite possibly haunted — Bridgeport is always an interesting place for a walk.

如何抵達

By train The main L stations are on the CTA Red Line at Cermak-Chinatown and Sox-35th for visiting Chinatown and Guaranteed Rate Field respectively. Other options include Halsted and Ashland on the Orange Line, which are on the northern and western outskirts of Bridgeport, and 35-Bronzeville-IIT on the Green Line, which is a block and a half east of the Sox-35th station.

By bus The main routes into Bridgeport-Chinatown from the Loop are #62, which runs the length of Archer Ave from State St, and the #24, which runs from Clark St to Wentworth Ave through the center of Chinatown and next to Guaranteed Rate Field. Route #8 is also useful, as it runs north-south along Halsted St, which runs through the Near West Side and Near North neighborhoods as well as the middle of Bridgeport.

By car Parking is always plentiful in Bridgeport, and you can usually find spaces right by your destination, though you should check to make sure you're not on a permit parking only residential street. On game days, however, watch out — though no signs go up, you can be ticketed for parking in the neighborhood. Take the L instead to avoid the bad game day traffic and pricey parking lots. Chinatown is more crowded, but you should still have little trouble finding on-street metered parking around Cermak/Archer on weekdays or on off-hours.

The Dan Ryan and Stevenson Expressway cut across the east and north of the district. From the Dan Ryan, take either of the 31st or 35th Street exits; from the Stevenson, take the Cermak Avenue/Chinatown exit for Chinatown and the Damen Avenue exit via Archer or 35th Street for Bridgeport. The main city streets are Halsted Street (north-south), and 31st St, 35th St, and Pershing Rd (east-west).

當地交通

The easiest way to get around Bridgeport by public transport is on the two main east-west bus routes #35 and #39, which run along 35th St and Pershing Rd, as well as the aforementioned #8 running north-south on Halsted St. Bus routes are not terribly convenient between the two neighborhoods, but #62 Archer does run along the north of Bridgeport from the Chinatown L stop, from which you can hop on the Halsted route. Chinatown itself is very compact and easily covered on foot.

必看景點

You can cover Chinatown's sites easily in an hour or two on foot, but if you are interested in art, set aside some real time to explore the new Bridgeport galleries that fly under the popular radar, but are quite important to the contemporary art world in Chicago.

Chinatown 1 Chinatown Square, 2100 S Wentworth Ave, ☏ +1-312-225-0088. This main square is a Chinatown landmark, with some pagoda-like structures as well as animal sculptures of the Chinese zodiac. Be sure to check out the Chinatown Mural — a mosaic of painted tiles depicting the migration of Chinese-Americans from China to, ultimately, Chicago's Chinatown. Ultimately, though, the reason to come here is to wander into the surrounding Chinatown Marketplace, full of narrow alleys packed with shops and restaurants, which occasionally threaten to transport you back to Taipei. (updated Jul 2017) 2 Chinese-American Museum of Chicago, 238 W 23rd St, ☏ +1-312-949-1000, [email protected]. Tu-F 9:30AM-1:30PM, Sa Su 10AM-5PM. A museum with exhibits on Chinese-American culture, history, and the community's contributions to American society. Long closed due to a fire, the museum has finally reopened 25 September 2010. Suggested donation: $1-2. 3 Chinese American Veterans Memorial, 2169 S Archer Ave. A small memorial to Chicago Chinatown residents who served the United States in foreign wars. 4 Dr Sun Yat Sen Museum, 2245 S Wentworth Ave (3F, above the Chicago Food Market), ☏ +1-312-842-5462. Sa Su noon-5PM, M-F by appointment only. A one-room museum good for some Kuomintang nostalgia. Free. 5 Nine Dragon Wall (just across Wentworth Ave from 200 W Cermak Rd). A smaller semblance of the ancient glazed tile Nine Dragon Wall located in Beijing's Behai Park. 6 Ping Tom Memorial Park, 300 W 19th St. A riverside park with a Chinese touch, including a riverside Chinese pavilion and a bamboo garden. On a clear day the park has nice southwest side views of the Chicago skyline. The park offers many summertime events fro

體驗活動

1 Armour Square Park, 3309 S Shields Ave, ☏ +1-312-747-6012. M-F 9AM-10PM, Sa Su 9AM-5PM. A good place to play some baseball, soccer, volleyball, basketball, or take a dip in the pool. Occasional events include outdoor movie screenings. Chicago Chinese Cultural Institute, 1245 S Michigan Ave #219, ☏ +1-312-842-1988, [email protected]. Offers an assortment of services and events, such as: neighborhood tours, film screenings, language instruction, and cooking classes. Chinatown Summer Fair. 10AM-8PM (18 Jul 2010). A fun neighborhood festival, with a Lion Dance procession along Wentworth at 12:30PM, and performances starting at 1PM, 23rd & Wentworth. Dragon Boat Race (Ping Tom Memorial Park). 8AM-5PM (24 Jul 2010). Dragon Boats along the South Branch of the Chicago River. 2 Sun Yat Sen Park, 251 West 24th Pl. A little