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The Chinatown of Las Vegas, Nevada is a series of large Shopping Center s with ethnic Chinese and other pan- Asia n businesses on Spring Mountain Road, with the original called ''Chinatown Plaza''. The strip mall was conceived by Taiwanese American developer James Chih-Cheng Chen, and opened in 1995 . Even Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn officially designated the area as Chinatown in October 1999. Spring Mountain Road was once a decrepit corridor with Strip Club s, but Chinatown Plaza has emerged as a fine example of immigrants first taking an old neighborhood given up for dead by white residents and then reviving it as a bustling center of Minority commerce. GENERALLY As a whole, Las Vegas's Chinatown is located west of the Las Vegas Strip , not far from the Treasure Island and The Venetian casinos. Also included in Chinatown are scores of Filipino , Korea n, Thai , and Vietnamese American businesses as it serves a pan-Asian community, making the term Chinatown somewhat of a misnomer. The Las Vegas Chinatown resembles many of the new Suburban "Chinatowns" found in Southern California and Silicon Valley , in the form of sprawl with generously large parking lots. This area of Las Vegas is modeled upon the Los Angeles suburbs of Monterey Park, California and San Gabriel, California , both anchored by shopping centers and supermarkets (99 Ranch Market and Shun Fat Supermarket). In several cases, some businesses are extensions from Southern California Chinatowns , including Asian Supermarket chains, restaurants, bakery, travel agent and so on. It is generally unlike the old and dense tightly-packed Chinatowns. The suburban-style 99 Ranch Market chain is the key anchor to the area, with other well-known Southern California-based chain businesses such as popular Sam Woo Restaurant (serving Cantonese Cuisine ) and Kim Tar Restaurant (serving Teochew Cuisine ). There is also a Mainland Chinese noodle and dumpling restaurant serving Noodle s, Fried Dumpling s, Spring Onion Pizza , and Smelly Tofu . Cantonese seafood restaurants also add to the vibrant mix. SHOPPING CENTERS Chinatown Plaza Located on Spring Mountain Road between Valley View Boulevard and Arville Street, Chinatown Plaza (中國城, Mandarin: zhong guo cheng) is home to several types of Restaurants comprises of 85,000 square foot of bustling immigrant Commerce , with restaurants offering regional Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong cuisine as well as other Asian cuisine ( Filipino , Japanese , and Vietnamese ). The assortment of businesses also includes a Book Store (selling Chinese Language publications), a Ginseng shop, a Travel Agent , a VCD store, a Bakery , and an Optometrist all providing goods and services run by and for the immigrants. The entrance of the parking lot of Chinatown Plaza is marked by an traditional Chinese arch (called in Mandarin Chinese '' Paifang ''). There is a statue of the Journey To The West of Xuan Zang and the Monkey God at the front of the mall (these are figures in classical Ming Dynasty -era Chinese Literature ). Pacific Asian Plaza There were attempts to duplicate the success of Chinatown Plaza. Opened in 2001, the 90,000 square foot Pacific Asian Plaza has been built with Japanese accents. Shun Fat Supermarket is the prime anchor of this complex. Others Other shopping centers developed adjacently in recent years by other developers include:
EVENTS During the Chinese New Year, the Chinatown Plaza also hosts Las Vegas's special annual Asian Food Festival with great energetic lion and Dragon Dance performances (performed by a local Shaolin group) and superb Japanese Taiko Drum performances. There are also stalls offering goods and services from the Chinese culture. The Miss Chinatown Las Vegas Pageant is held in Chinatown Plaza. They are definitely of one of the kind in Nevada. Admission is at the low price of $3 per person. ASIAN DEMOGRAPHICS OF LAS VEGAS At first, "Chinatown" was conceived for the purpose of serving Chinese-speaking tourists and businesses visiting Las Vegas from the Southern California area and Asia . At present, the population of Asian American s in Las Vegas is 22,879 and comprise 4.8% of the total population as of the 2000 Census. Almost half of Las Vegas's Chinese American population - numbering at 2,784 residents - are from Taiwan . Some came from Mainland China and Southeast Asia. Filipinos remain the largest Asian ethnic group of the city. In comparison with the early 1990s when the Chinese origin population was minuscule, Las Vegas now has Chinese-language newspapers and a Chinese American Chamber of Commerce. The Las Vegas Chinese Daily News has its offices in Chinatown. Other newspapers, such as Right-wing World Journal and Leftist International Daily News , come from the Los Angeles area (specifically from Monterey Park). TRANSPORTATION Several Chinese American bus lines connect Chinatown, Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley in Southern California to Las Vegas various casinos and Chinatown as the final destination. EXTERNAL LINKS
FURTHER READING ''For Asians in U.S., Mini-Chinatowns Sprout in Suburbia'', Barry Newman, The Wall Street Journal , April 28, 2004 (article on development of Las Vegas's Chinatown). |
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