Chinatown

Philadelphia Chinatown is a predominantly Asian American neighborhood in Center City, Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation supports the area. The neighborhood stretches from Vine Street on the north to Arch Street on the south, and from North Franklin Street and North 7th Street on the east to North Broad Street on the west. Unlike some other traditional Chinatowns, the Philadelphia Chinatown continues to grow in size and ethnic Chinese population, as Philadelphia itself is, as of 2018, experiencing significant Chinese immigration from New York City, 95 miles to the north, and from China, the top country of birth by a significant margin sending immigrants to Philadelphia.
In the mid-late 19th century, Cantonese immigrants to Philadelphia opened laundries and restaurants in an area near Philadelphia's commercial wharves. This led to the start of Philadelphia's Chinatown. The first business was a laundry owned by Lee Fong at 913 Race Street; it opened in 1871. In the following years, Chinatown consisted of ethnic Chinese businesses clustered around the 900 block of Race Street. Before the mid-1960s it consisted of several restaurants and one grocery store.

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