In Search of a Culture

China Town-
Usually thought of as a representation of a single culture. A culture rich in belief's, customs, and legends. The first step onto these escalators initiates our attempt to discover this spectacular community and the Chinese existence.



A gateway that introduces us to a part of this remarkable civilization. An artwork describing a rich and extensive culture. A sign of a thriving society present despite the integration of cultures that have combined to create the melting pot of America.



A symbol almost missed on the dirty street below. What a simple depiction of a dragon yet again providing a connection between the area and the culture residing within.



While proceeding forward a familiar sign comes into vision. CVS? A chain convenience store in a unique Chinese neighborhood? How could that possible represent this culture? On the brink of sheer confusion, any fears were stifled by the Chinese lettering accompanying the bold English words.



Turning a corner, the tour comes to yet another sudden halt. A bustling crowd enters and leaves an appealing Mexican grill. Tasty burritos, crispy tortilla chips, mouth watering quesadilla's. An endless list comes to mind. Not really the delicious Chinese cuisine one might usually think of......



Hunger soon hits and the time comes to find a restaurant to experience this one of a kind ethnicity. With much anticipation we look to our left to find Vapiano- Pizza, pasta, and all the Italian food one could imagine...



How exciting! An Irish pub! A culture known for its great drinking, its fabulous Irish stew, Dublin Coddle, and potato bread. A definite stop on this expedition!!



The German Cultural center is yet another building that captures our attention. What a great place to learn about the German traditions through a free and informative gallery.
Suspicion, however, starts to set in....



Looking up toward the sun, a vision of beautiful architecture glimmers in the corner of our eyes .Exquisite detail in every corner. A sense of a past emanates from its old weathered brick, but what kind of history does this represent?



A sign in the right direction? Could this lead us to our original search? With much curiosity and the desperate need to discover a piece of China, we take on this path.



Leaving the area, the memories of this tour seem somewhat skewed. An attempt to discover a single culture led to a tour of variety of ethnicity's. Can we consider Chinatown to be what its name depicts? Are we being deceived? It has become not a place to search out the wonders the Chinese existence, but rather a site to experience the multicultural aspect of America

Location

For our project we have decided to take a situational tour of Chinatown in Washington D.C. We feel that this has a lot of elements that can work and improve our narrative. The fact that all the signs and neons are written in chinese transport you to another place. this location spesifically adresses the element of ideology. When people think of Chinatown they think of a dirty, smelly and chaotic place, it represents bargains and low prices, as well as low quality. The Chinatown in DC is totally different. It is extremely clean and full of upscale restaurants and stores, which contradicts what is usually thought of Chinatown. Another aspect the the ideology is that Chinatown is supposed to be a place where chinese people live, just like a regular neighbornhood. The difference is that in DC it is more of a turist attraction, for there aren't even true chinese restaurants. Another element that could be adresses is that of the routine. We are going on a Sunday afternoon, when people supossedly break out of the week routine and do something fun, but what happens when this "non-routine" becomes a routine itself? this is another aspect that we are going to adress.
This is the location that we are going to focus on: