Chinese Enclaves in The San Gabriel Valley - Today

Today

Given San Gabriel Valley's rapidly increasing population of Asian-Americans, several business districts were developed to serve their needs. Since the 1970s, most ethnic Chinese in Los Angeles Area have preferred these Chinese ethoburbs mainly in the San Gabriel Valley, instead of the touristy old "New Chinatown". Of the ten cities in the United States with the highest proportions of Chinese Americans, the top eight are located in the San Gabriel Valley. As the Chinatown in Los Angeles has declined, numerous residents and businesses have fled from Los Angeles' Chinatown and have instead opened branches in the San Gabriel Valley area.

There are several suburban Chinese-oriented Ethnoburbs in Southern California, including those in suburbia, situated in the San Gabriel Valley. Unlike the official Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles, these "pocket" communities are not called "Chinatown" by the Chinese community there, but generally by the name of the city or street in which the businesses and residences are established, although Monterey Park has been called the "First Suburban Chinatown". See also Little Taipei.