Chinatown, Houston
USINFO | 2013-05-27 09:20


 
Chinatown (Simplified Chinese: 中国城, Traditional Chinese: 中國城, Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōngguóchéng) is a community in southwestern Houston, Texas, United States. It is roughly bounded by Fondren, Beechnut, State Highway 6, and Westpark, west of Bellaire in the Alief area. The naming of the new Chinatown is disputed, as various ethnic groups live within the community. Portions of Chinatown lie within the Greater Sharpstown, International, and Westchase management districts.
 
There is another Chinatown called "Old Chinatown" located within the East Downtown Houston district near the George R. Brown Convention Center.
 
History
 
The first businesses of the new Houston Chinatown opened in 1983. The new Chinatown began to expand in the 1990s when Houston-area Asian American entrepreneurs moved their businesses from older neighborhoods, especially the "Old Chinatown" on the eastern end of Downtown Houston (in the process of redevelopment), in a search for more inexpensive properties.
 
In 2005 Christy Chang, a tour operator who operated tours into Chinatown, said "This area is not just Chinatown anymore. If anything, it's Asia Town" due to the presence of various ethnic groups that developed in the community. The Asian American Business Council estimated that between 2004 and 2008 the land values along Bellaire Boulevard in Chinatown increased between 25 and 50 percent. In 2008 the group estimated that 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m2) in construction would appear in the following two-year period. The group estimated that the construction would high end condominiums. Lisa Gray of the Houston Chronicle stated that the development of the remaining acreage would likely cause rents to increase and that, compared to many other Chinatowns in the United States, the Houston Chinatown is still relatively inexpensive.
 
In 2008 the Asian American Business Council placed a contest to design a "landmark monument" to be placed on Bellaire Boulevard between Beltway 8 and Gessner Road in order to increase visibility among Asian Americans and non-Asian Americans and to beautify the area.
 
Recreation
 
The Chinese Community Center (CCC, Chinese: 休士頓中華文化服務中心, Hanyu Pinyin Xiūshìdùn Zhōnghuá Wénhuà Fúwù Zhōngxīn, "Houston Chinese Culture Service Center"), an IRS 501(c)(3) organization and a United Way affiliate, is located at 9800 Town Park Drive. The facility opened in 1979 as the Chinese Language School. The CCC has several levels of English classes offered daily. As of 2006, at CCC about 80% of the students have university degrees, and the other 20% are the companions of the students with university degrees.
 
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