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唐人街风光不再 不断变化的人口特征严重影响到了旅美华人对居住地和居住方式的选择。 我小时候住在芝加哥郊区，当时的华人大多聚居在芝加哥的唐人街。生活在郊区的华人屈指可数，当然也有其他亚洲人，但数量都极少。 北美大多数大城市的情况都是如此，唐人街的华人大都操着一口中山话、台山话，或者其他南方口音，会普通话和英文的人很少。 初来者喜欢唐人街的理由很多，但语言上的便利、文化上的认同，以及和新移民间紧密的家庭联系都是最主要的因素，更不用说挣钱的机会了。 过去20年，从大中华区移民到北美的人口越来越多元化。其中，中国移民的来源地更加广泛，教育水平更高，从业经验更丰富，语言能力也更强。 新移民不需要也不希望淹没在老的唐人街中，而唐人街作为北美华人文化、政治、经济中心的日子似乎也已经一去不复返了。 来自亚洲其他国家的移民也呈现同样的趋势，开始分散到新的卫星城和郊区中去。 美国共有440万亚裔人口，他们和西班牙裔都是增长最快的族群。目前全美62%的亚裔人口——包括华人、韩国人和印度人——都居住在郊区，而这一数字在1990年只有54%。 郊区生活一直与二战后的“美国梦”联系紧密，颇受亚洲移民的追捧。而郊区学校的条件较好也是原因之一。 唐人街和城里其他传统的移民聚居区对受教育程度较低、技术和语言能力较差的移民仍有很大吸引力，因为在那儿他们可以比较容易地找到入门级别的工作。有些地区甚至已经发展成了当地的旅游点。 来北美的朋友经常抱怨当地的中餐质量太差。如果让餐厅解释，他们会说是因为外国顾客接受不了真正的中餐，所以才不得已对菜单进行改良，迎合当地的口味。 过去要想在北美找到地道的中餐，还是得去唐人街，尽管那时都是以粤菜为主。但纽约、多伦多、旧金山和温哥华的情况例外，这些地方的中餐品种都非常丰富。 随着唐人街的淡出，寻找上好的中餐越来越难。这并不是因为没有中餐，而是因为好的中餐厅现在都分散在城区和郊区不同的地方。 随着唐人街旅游收入的增加，希望眼光独到的企业家能抓住商机，提供原汁原味的地方风味餐饮。反过来说，我相信外国客人如果有机会尝尝地道的中餐，肯定也是可以接受和欣赏的。 |
Where's Chinatown? Changing demographics have heavily impacted where and how overseas Chinese in America choose to live. When I was growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, the ethnic Chinese population was heavily concentrated in Chicago's Chinatown. There were a handful of Chinese and other Asians in the suburbs, but not many. The same was true in most large North American cities, where the streets of Chinatown were filled with people mostly speaking Zhongshan, Taishan and other Southern dialects, rather than Putonghua or English. There are many reasons why Chinatown remained a magnet for new arrivals, but language ability, cultural affinity, and close family ties of new immigrants were all factors, not to mention economic opportunity. During the past 20 years, the demographic diversity of immigrants from Greater China to North America has expanded dramatically, including a wider range of regional origins within China, higher level of education and professional experience, and language abilities. Newer arrivals don't need or want to be immersed in the old Chinatowns. As a result, Chinatown is no longer the center of cultural, political and economic life for North America's overseas Chinese; and that trend appears to be permanent. A parallel trend is evident among other immigrants from Asian countries, who are also dispersing to new satellite communities and the suburbs. In the U.S., Asian Americans number 4.4 million, tied with Americans of Hispanic origin as the fastest growing ethnic group. Nationwide, some 62% of Asian Americans -- including Chinese, Koreans, and Indians -- now live in the suburbs, up from 54% in 1990. Suburban living has been closely associated with the post WWII American dream, which has been clearly embraced by Asian immigrants. The draw of better schools in the suburbs is also a driver. Chinatowns and other traditional urban ethnic neighborhoods remain a magnet for immigrants with lower education, skill and language levels who can more easily find entry-level work there. Some are also developing as local tourism destinations. It's long been a complaint among Chinese friends who visit North America that the quality of Chinese restaurant food available there is generally awful. If you ask the restaurateurs, their excuse is that non-Chinese customers don't appreciate genuine Chinese cooking, so they have changed the menu to suit local tastes. To the extent that you could find good Chinese food in North America, it was traditionally in Chinatowns, although even then it was mainly Cantonese cuisine. The main exceptions were New York, Toronto, San Francisco, and Vancouver -- offering a bigger and more diverse range of Chinese cuisines. With the gradual demise of Chinatowns, finding good Chinese food has become more of a challenge. Not because it isn't available, but because good Chinese restaurants are dispersed across a very wide range of urban and suburban neighborhoods. As Chinatowns develop more income from tourism, let's hope more smart entrepreneurs will seize the opportunity to offer genuine Chinese regional cuisines. Speaking as a convert, I am confident non-Chinese will accept and enjoy the real thing if given the chance. |
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