Coronavirus: US Chinatown communities struggle through Covid to create a fresh future
- Problems have beset Chinatowns across America, including Los Angeles and New York, with special resonance in San Francisco, home to the continent’s oldest Chinatown
- International tourism is at a low ebb and ‘the golden age is gone’ but ambitious hip, young entrepreneurs are creating Instagram-ready experiences
Ho Chee Boon, the globally celebrated chef who has just opened a new restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown, is on a mission.
“I want to play my part to bring business back and elevate Chinatown,” he said. “If you see the cover of a book, if it’s attractive and interesting, you will open the book. I want to do this with the restaurant.”
Because of Covid-19, the neighbourhood is changing. At the start of the Year of the Tiger, nobody is sure where this Chinatown is headed.
If you question the merchants in this community, which amounts to about 24 blocks, many old-timers say an era has ended. Some blame the pandemic and cite rising xenophobia. Some blame Amazon for undermining their bricks-and-mortar livelihoods. Some blame the rising tourist appetite for experiences and Instagram fodder instead of conventional merchandise.
These problems have hobbled Chinatowns across North America, including Los Angeles and New York, and they take on a special resonance in San Francisco, home to this continent’s oldest Chinatown.