CHINA TOWN By: Josie, Ellie, Jenny and Prachi

Why Chinatown? We visited Chinatown on October 29th, and chose it because we all have a love for chinese food. We thought it would be interesting to have authentic chinese food as opposed to the ‘Americanized’ chinese food we are all so accustomed to. Also, most of us had not been there before so we wanted to be immersed into a different culture other than our own, which luckily is only a short L ride away.

Where is Chinatown? Chinatown is near the south side of Chicago, and it is located in the Armour Square community center. It is centered on Cermak and Wentworth Avenue and can be reached by getting off on the ‘Chinatown-Cermak’ stop on the ‘L’ Red line toward 95th/Dan Ryan.

Demographics Area: square miles (equivalent to about 240 football fields) Population: 7,391 people Percentage by gender: 48% Male 52% Female Median household income: $32,554 (Chinatown) $47,099 (Chicago) Median age: 36.7 years (Chinatown) 33.0 (Chicago)

Chi Cafe restaurant Chi Cafe is famous for its Hong Kong style cuisine. It was authentic style cuisine. We were given green tea when we entered. All of us ordered different kinds of dishes such as vegetable delight chow mein, shrimp with egg on rice, crab rangoon, duck, deep fried tofu and curry soup.

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Joy Yee Noodle Joy Yee Noodle is a cuisine open in six locations: Evanston, Tinley Park, North Shore Hotel, Iroquois Center, University Village, and two in Chinatown Square. They are the first to offer and famous for their Taiwanese style bubble tea in the midwest. Likewise, we stopped down the block to grab their delicious smoothies just shortly after our dinner at Chi Cafe.

Chinese Bull The chinese zodiac signs are different. Jenny and Prachi are born in 1997, so they are the bulls. The bull symbolize diligence, persistence and honesty. They are probably tardy in action, but industrious and cautious.

Chinese Rat Josie and Ellie are the chinese rat because they are born in The rats rank first in chinese zodiac signs. They have the characteristic of an animal with spirit, wit, alertness, delicacy, flexibility and vitality.

What else can you do... Chinatown offers a variety of restaurants, ranging from sushi to Chinese BBQ. Additionally, there are a variety of grocery stores that offer traditional chinese cuisine. There is also a culture institute there that provides tourists with opportunities to partake in hands on chinese experiences, such as making dumplings or taking a tai chi class.