Although the vast majority of the aforementioned Oscar-winning Roman Polanski film Chinatown starring Jack Nicholson has nothing to do with Chinatown itself, the film’s title further evidences Chinatown’s inextricable link to the history of the city. It was fittingly featured extensively in the cross-cultural Jackie Chan Hollywood vehicle Rush Hour, although residents remind movie fans that the film’s depiction of organized crime is entirely fictionalized. College Street divides Chinatown diagonally into a newer and older area, the latter of which is particularly popular for filmmakers wishing to find an exotic backdrop. The Los Angeles Times estimates that 90% of businesses in the southwest part of Chinatown are owned by first-generation Chinese and Southeastern Asian immigrants.

              Chinatown Los Angeles doesn’t rival its counterparts in San Francisco and New York for spectacular cultural festivities, but it is an irreplaceable patch of the Los Angeles cultural quilt. Although the city has dozens of ethnic communities spread throughout its endless pavement, none rival Chinatown’s legacy or tourist draw. And given its central location in the world capital of facades, Chinatown Los Angeles’ authenticity as a historical landmark is even more remarkable.

      I found my girlfriend on a bench in front of a senior center, seemingly being comforted by a middle-aged man speaking Mandarin. When I talked to her later, I was surprised to hear her refer to him as a “stalker,” reminding me we were definitely still in Los Angeles. And later, as we were munching on chow mien and sweet and sour pork, we realized that the man had followed us to the restaurant, approached our table, and asked us politely for a few dollars. I was stunned with the fact that despite dragons, fans, and calligraphy, Los Angeles customs influence Chinatown as much as the other way around, and locals are indisputably Californian.