Chinatown

NETS addressed with this activity: NETS 1, 2, 5, 6
 * Chinatown **

The 4th graders take a field trip to Philadelphia's Chinatown in March. This field trip was created to integrate history, social studies, religion, and culture. At the end of the tour, the students head down to the National Liberty Museum for a guided tour focusing on Diversity Appreciation.

1.Start at Chinatown Gate (10th and Arch) – take left on Arch

2.Long Life Herb Shop/Acupuncturist – 1011 Arch St. – back track and go up 10th

3.Dragon Mural – 125 N. 10th Street

4.Chinese Cultural Center – left on Cherry Street

5.Hung Gar Martial Arts

6.Fo Shou Temple – back track

7.Firehouse – right on Race Street

8.H.K. Golden Phoenix/Start of Chinatown Plaque – 913 Race Street

9.Nan Zhou Noodle House – 927 Race Street – right on 9th

10.Lucky Chinese Cookie Factory – 155 N. 9th Street – left on Winter

11.History of Chinatown in commemoration of Chinatown’s 125th Anniversary – 10th and Winter St. – south on 10th

12.On Lok (circular doorway) – right on Race

13.Asia Supermarket 143 N 11th Street.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">14.11:00am Lunch - Joy Tsin Lau – 1026 Race Street

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">15.After Bread Top Bakery (1041 Race Street) or Mayflower Bakery (1008 Race Street) for more treats

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">16.12:00-1:30 National Liberty Museum - 321 Chestnut Street (20 minute walk – leave by 11:30)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> 1.Start at Chinatown Gate (10th and Arch) – take left on Arch <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Philadelphia's Chinatown is the fourth largest in the United States after New York City, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. It is widely recognized that the first Chinese business opened in this area in 1860, when Lee Fong opened a laundry at 913 Race Street. Philadelphia's Chinatown consists of six city blocks, between Vine Street and Race Street on the north and south, and 8th Street and 11th Street on the East and West.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Chinese immigrants were brought east to New Jersey from San Francisco to work in laundries and subsequently arrived in Philadelphia. Opportunities for these Chinese immigrants were limited to the most difficult and unrewarding occupations: operating hand laundries, working in restaurants, and running small specialty shops. Most of the workers found it difficult to save money because of the need to send their resources home to their families.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The neighborhood, which continues to develop, now consists of over 50 restaurants, 15 grocery stores, as well as other businesses such as coffee and gift shops, beauty salons, bookstores, travel agencies, and more. It is home to several schools, churches, community centers, arts organizations, and a housing complex for senior citizens. The population of Chinatown has grown to over 3,000 residents and continues to increase as new immigrants arrive and seek a foothold in the area.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The Chinatown Friendship Gate, located at 10th and Arch Street, is an internationally known landmark and a symbol of cultural exchange and friendship between Philadelphia and its Sister City, Tianjin, China, a city southeast of Beijing.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The Gate is part of the Port Agreement signed in Tianjin, China on November 11, 1982. It was commissioned by the Department of Commerce and the Department of Public Property and completed in the winter of 1983-84. The Gate was dedicated on January 31, 1984. The Gate is the first authentic Chinese gate built in America by artisans from China. Weighing in at approximately 88 tons and standing 40 feet high, the Gate's bright colors and elaborate design reflect traditional ancient color combinations used in early Chinese imperial construction. Themes of mythical creatures and graphic patterns typical to Ming and Qing Dynasties were used. A procession of mythical animals is featured on tiles, each with its own significance: the phoenix ensures good luck, and the dragon, with the magical power of retaining water in its mouth, protects the structure of the gate and the community from fire.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> After twenty-four years of climate wear and tear, the Friendship Gate of Chinatown got a new coat of paint. Once again artisans from the Sister City of Tianjin, China, came to Philadelphia to take on this project in conjunction with the City of Philadelphia and the help of Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. Using ancient techniques and traditional materials, they revitalized the Friendship Gate. The Gate was rededicated on November 19, 2008. Since the artisans worked in Chinese folk art, they insisted on using purely traditional methods to paint. They requested fresh pigs’ blood to serve as a primer for the paint. In an effort to obtain gallons of fresh pigs’ blood, Nancy Gilboy, CEO of the International Visitors Council of Philadelphia, called Dietz & Watson to have it shipped from North Carolina. To Gilboy’s surprise, the pigs’ blood arrived frozen. In a panic, she contacted the city morgue and asked if she could store it there. Downey witnessed the frozen pigs’ blood being turned into paint. In the middle of a large field, the artisans boiled it in a large wok. The process, which might seem strange, is a traditional method that has been utilized by Chinese artisans for centuries.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> “It’s been a very interesting treasure hunt,” said John Chin, executive director of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. Chin searched for materials like raw cotton to be used in lieu of cotton balls.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> 2.Long Life Herb Shop/Acupuncturist – 1011 Arch St. – back track and go up 10th <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) are made from herbs, insects, animal parts, and minerals. Chinese herbal medicine plays a special role in everyday and social life in China, so it plays a different role than Western science-based medical treatments. In China, herbal medicine is considered as the primary therapeutic modality of internal medicine.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The medicines include processed animal parts and minerals, and plants of Chinese herbal medicine. Snake oil is likely the most widely known outside of Asia, but ginseng is the most broadly used substance for the largest range of alleged cures. Powdered pre-calcified antler, horns, teeth, and bones are second in importance to ginseng, with claims ranging from curing cancer to improving immune system function to curing impotence. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">TCM therapy largely consists of Chinese herbal medicine (use of plants, human and animal parts, and minerals to make medicines), acupuncture (insertion of needles in the body), tui-na massage, and dietary therapy. Traditional Chinese medicine theory is based on ancient Taoist philosophical and religious conceptions of balance and opposites (yin and yang) and other metaphysical belief systems.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Acupuncture - Its proponents variously claim that it relieves pain, treats disease, prevents disease, promotes general health, or can be used for therapeutic purposes. According to acupuncture, disease is believed to be caused by an imbalance of yin and yang caused by a "blockage" or "stagnation" of metaphysical energy known as qi. Alternately, science-based medicine typically addresses physical causes, e.g. bacteria, viruses, or genetic conditions. Qi is believed to flow in and around the body in channels called meridians. The location of meridians are based on the number of rivers flowing through the ancient Chinese empire, and acupuncture points were originally derived from Chinese astrological calculations and do not correspond to any anatomical structure.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3.Dragon Mural – 125 N. 10th Street

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Artist: Hedy Melvin Date painted: 1985 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Painted on the brick wall of Thomas and Teresa Lee's former restaurant, the Royal Inn. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Hedy Melvin (a friend of Mrs. Lee's and not Chinese herself) painted the mural in 1985 at the request of the Lees, who wanted to enhance the neighborhood and their building. This mural is less visible than it used to be, due to an awning on the wall which covers part of it.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4.Chinese Cultural Center – left on Cherry Street

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">It's somewhat disorienting to see this bright, multi-story pagodalike structure in Philadelphia and not somewhere in Asia. A **pagoda** is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Nepal, and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist, and were often located in or near temples. This term may refer to other religious structures in some countries. In 1955 six young men gathered to form a YMCA at a time when there were few public gathering spaces for socializing and recreation. The organization flourished as the Chinese Cultural and Community Center, offering classes in Chinese cooking and English and Chinese languages, organizing a Chinese New Year Parade, and sponsoring a "Dragon Club" for youth. Over time the CCCC promoted traditional culture and public recreation for residents and worked to attract non-Chinese visitors to Chinatown and Chinese culture.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5.Hung Gar Martial Arts <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Hung Gar is a southern Chinese martial art associated with the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung, who was a master of Hung Gar. This is one of the martial arts groups that also does traditional Lion Dancing, seen at Chinese New Year Parades.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6.Fo Shou Temple – back track

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Inside the temple, three larger-than-life golden Buddhas are seated on lotus fronds on the far wall above a communal altar lined with offerings of apples, papayas, oranges and Asian pears and a metal statue of Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion. Throughout the un-air-conditioned room are oscillating wall fans and rows of tables draped in saffron fabric. Resting on them are sutra stands. Near the sliding glass door as you walk into the temple is a glass-enclosed shrine - inside is the Medicine Buddha, who is prayed to for the sake of the ill and suffering.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Fo Shou practices the most popular Chinese form of Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism - or Amidism -- a devotional branch of Mahayana.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Historically, the Chinese have practiced Confucianism and ancestor worship along with Buddhism, and the temple's upper floor is also an ancestral shrine. On Sept. 6, the white-walled temple completed a marathon month-long chanting of the Ullambana (deliverance from suffering) Sutra honoring dead ancestors and souls in the underworld.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">7.Firehouse – right on Race Street

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">A landmark, known mostly for the large mural of a dragon on the wall. The firefighters here are often sitting outside playing cards or saying hi to the locals. Also known as the local "dragon fighters".

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">8.H.K. Golden Phoenix/Start of Chinatown Plaque – 913 Race Street

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: justify;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: justify;">The restaurant Mei-Hsian Lou opened in 1870. A plaque at 913 Race Street on the site of that first restaurant pays tribute to that eatery as well as the first Chinese immigrants who came to America — which was known by those in China as "gim sa" or "gold mountain."

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: justify;">The few early restaurants served mostly Cantonese fare. Today one can get all manner of Chinese cuisine — Szechuan, Mandarin and Hunan. In addition to the dozens of Chinese restaurants, there are now several Vietnamese restaurants and a handful of Burmese, Japanese and Thai eateries located in Chinatown as well. Vegetarians will find several restaurants catering particularly to their needs — but don't be surprised if these vegetarian restaurants have "pork", "beef" or "poultry" on the menu — they're all made from gluten, a wheat product.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">9.Nan Zhou Noodle House – 927 Race Street – right on 9th

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Chinatown's Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House gets lots of praise for, of course, their hand drawn noodles freshly made to order in house (sit in the back by the kitchen to watch the noodles being pounded out).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">10.Lucky Chinese Cookie Factory – 155 N. 9th Street – left on Winter

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">A **fortune cookie** is a crisp cookie, usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil with a "fortune" wrapped inside. A "fortune" is a piece of paper with words of faux wisdom or a vague prophecy. The message inside may also include a Chinese phrase with translation or a list of lucky numbers used by some as lottery numbers, some of which have become actual winners.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Fortune cookies are often served as a dessert in Chinese restaurants in the United States and some other countries, but are absent in China. The exact provenance of fortune cookies is unclear, though various immigrant groups in California claim to have popularized them in the early 20th century, basing their recipe on a traditional Japanese cracker. Fortune cookies have been summarized as being "introduced by the Japanese, popularized by the Chinese, but ultimately they are consumed by Americans.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">11.History of Chinatown in commemoration of Chinatown’s 125th Anniversary – 10th and Winter St. – south on 10th

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 24px; text-align: justify;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Murals in Chinatown play a role in publicly celebrating culture and commemorating the community's history. The mural at 10th and Winter Streets by Arturo Ho emphasizes key themes in history of Chinatown: the hard work of early sojourners and laundry workers, family life, the fight to Save Chinatown, the redevelopment of Chinatown, and current concerns about education.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">12. On Lok (circular doorway) - right on Race

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">On Lok is a social service center for seniors. Seniors gather here to participate in various cultural programs, do Tai Chi exercises, enjoy a hot lunch, dance to traditional Chinese music, express their artistic talent and creativity, acquire computer skills, volunteer time, and best of all, meet new friends and have fun.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">In feng shui, circles mean harmony and unity. Feng is an ancient system of aesthetics believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi, thus the circular entrance to the building.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">13. Asia Supermarket 143 N 11th Street

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: justify;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Asia Supermarket is a "hidden" supermarket, as the whole store is underground, they have live fish, a butcher, produce, frozen goods, and a myriad of other traditional Chinese groceries packed among the small aisles from floor to ceiling.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">14. 11:00am Lunch - Joy Tsin Lau – 1026 Race Street

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Joy Tsin Lau Restaurant at 1026 Race Street also has lively Eastern decor with pillars inset with carved dragons and a spectrum of bright red and green colors on the building's face. Inside the restaurant, by the way, are fish tanks teeming with turtles and the fish that are tonight's dinner.

<span class="wiki_link_ext" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">**Dim sum** is a Cantonese term for a type of Chinese dish that involves small individual portions of food, usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate. Going for dim sum is usually known in Cantonese as going to "//drink tea//" (飲茶).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Dim sum is usually linked with the older tradition of yum cha (tea tasting), which has its roots in travellers in the teahouses established along the ancient Silk Road. Rural farmers, exhausted after working hard in the fields, would go to teahouses for a relaxing afternoon of tea. At first, it was considered inappropriate to combine tea with food, because people believed it would lead to excessive weight gain. People later discovered that tea can aid in digestion, so teahouse owners began adding various snacks.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">The unique culinary art of dim sum originated with the Cantonese in southern China, who over the centuries transformed yum cha from a relaxing respite to a loud and happy dining experience. In Hong Kong, and in most cities and towns in Guangdong province, many restaurants start serving dim sum as early as five in the morning. It is a tradition for the elderly to gather to eat dim sum after morning exercises. For many in southern China, //yum cha// is treated as a weekend family day. Consistent with this tradition, dim sum restaurants typically only serve dim sum until mid-afternoon (around the time of a traditional Western 3:00 coffee break), and serve other kinds of Cantonese cuisine in the evening. Nowadays, various dim sum items are even sold as take-out for students and office workers on the go.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">While dim sum was originally not a main meal, only a snack, and therefore only meant to touch the heart, it is now a staple of Chinese dining culture, especially in Hong Kong. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">15.After lunch, Bread Top Bakery (1041 Race Street) or Mayflower Bakery (1008 Race Street) for more treats

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">16.12:00-1:30 National Liberty Museum - 321 Chestnut Street (20 minute walk – leave by 11:30)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**ASSESSMENT:** Wall Wisher is a simple tool for students to post "sticky notes" on a virtual wall.[| http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/january10] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**RUBRIC:**