Explore Chinatown while looking for works of art? Easy!! I’m in this neighborhood practically every week. I know my way around. This assignment should take no longer than an hour or two. It wasn’t until half an hour into our visit to Chinatown that I realized how wrong I was. There were so many significant places in this neighborhood that I had never encountered!
Rui Yan, Vishal, Rawan and I braved the freezing autumn winds and walked all around Chinatown last Sunday. We were looking for something that would be considered art. Luckily for us, a certain part of Chinatown, called Confucius Plaza, has two statues of famous Chinese philosophers. One of them was of course, Confucius. Confucius emphasized morality, justice and sincerity. This statue is considered as art because it represents the cultural values that the Chinese live by.
After we had found our “piece of art”, we decided to search for people we could interview. Fortunately, there was a small group of people from Brooklyn standing right by the statue of Confucius. They just so happened to be waiting for someone and had some free time on their hands. We interviewed them for a few minutes and they kindly gave us their insight on art in Chinatown. They weren’t too familiar with the neighborhood, but they did suggest Columbus Park, where senior citizens like to practice their tai chi, have chess tournaments and play music. We came across a very nice old man, who was willing to sit down with us for about ten minutes. He told us all about his life in China and introduced us to a few of the instruments that he and his buddies liked to play in the park. (He told us the names of the instruments in Chinese, so I have no idea what they’re called in English.) During the interview, I looked around and saw that there were many senior citizens hanging out in the park. Most of them seemed to be very close with each other, laughing and sharing stories. It really gave off a friendly vibe. Columbus Park definitely adds significance to Chinatown.
Rui Yan had introduced us to a certain theater that hosted shows such as operas. I can’t believe I’ve never even heard of this place! We had wanted to interview one of the performers, so we decided to sit in on one of the shows and wait for it to end so we could go backstage. Did I mention that the show was free?? The auditorium was practically filled. Although I did not enjoy the opera much, (It was rather boring for me. I didn’t understand a word they were singing, and the performers didn’t really seem to connect with the audience.) I was able to experience a taste of the music of my culture.
Chinatown is a very crowded and dirty place. But it also has a variety cultural entertainment. From little Chinese gift shops to delectable dim sum restaurants, Chinatown really is an exciting neighborhood to be in. I’m glad I got to learn so many new things about my culture from this assignment. I grew a new respect for Chinatown. I finally understand why tourists from all over the world are willing to spend their vacation in a crowded place like this. Although Chinatown isn’t the best neighborhood to enjoy art, one visit could teach people a great deal about the Chinese culture.
