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Get to Know Chinatown

Posted on February 14, 2024   |   Updated on September 30, 2025
Sidney Madden

Sidney Madden

A crowd of people walking in Chicago's Chinatown

Chicago’s Chinatown. (Courtesy of Jack Li)

Headed to Chinatown for the Lunar New Year Parade Sunday? Here’s what to know and where to go.

Chinatown moved from the Loop to the South Side in the 1900s. And its distance from downtown is why Chicago’s Chinatown continues to grow while other cities’ shrink, Pui Tak Center’s David Wu told ABC7.

Photographer Jack X. Li spent a lot of time in the neighborhood growing up since both his parents worked there. He shares his fav spots.

Something to Eat

Something to Drink

  • 🍸 Nine Bar is a wonderful cocktail bar by Lily Wang and Joe Briglio. It’s been on many best-of lists for good reason! The drinks are complex, delightful, and highlight a variety of Asian ingredients such as Sichuan peppercorn and baijiu.

Something to See

  • 🚶 Walk down the main stretch of Wentworth to look at some of the Chinese-style facades of the buildings, most of which date back to the early 1900s, including the prominent Pui Tak Center.
  • 🧭 Follow Wentworth north to Ping Tom Park to take in some of the beautiful murals that adorn the supports underneath the 18th Street bridge.

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