On Canal Street in Chinatown

On Canal Street in Chinatown. This photo shows Canal Street in Chinatown, New York City as it currently is. Chinatown is losing much of its cultural flavor, reflecting the changing business and residential demographics of Manhattan in general. In this scene we are looking down Canal Street towards Broadway, where the trendy Soho neighborhood intersects with Chinatown.

During the fashionable 70′s and 80′s, Canal Street in Chinatown was the street for buying cheap knockoffs of designer watches. They were actually pretty good watches for the most part with decent swiss movements. Also, there were great stores for getting electronics bargains in those days. Now, the stores cater primarily to tourists, and the bargains are not as plentiful. If you like to cook however, Chinatown has excellent fresh fish merchants and green grocers. In fact, this is one of the best neighborhoods in Manhattan for fresh produce.

If you want an Obama t-shirt, a cheap pair of sunglasses, or I Love New York pajamas, head to Canal Street in Chinatown. If you want really good Chinese food, then your challenge is to distinguish the tourist traps from the truly excellent restaurants (tip: ask a Chinese local where they go to eat). I wish you success in that endeavor!

Camera: Samsung GX 1S, 18-55mm kit lens. Raw images converted with Raw Therapee.