August 12, 2008 by Chinatown Blogger.

Just some observations on the 2008 Olympics:

1. The opening ceremony was incredible. Missed the beginning part but tuned in during the parade of nations. For those who were not aware, the opening day 8-08-08 is a lucky number. Who would have thought that 30 years, or even 20 years ago, that China would be mentioned in the same sentence along with the United States as a world “superpower”. Not an understatement from one of the NBC host who said, “This is the biggest event in modern Chinese history.”

2. Li Ning, the final torch bearer,  running in the air around the stadium walls (his shoes didn’t really touch the walls, but the effect was to simulate) while suspended on wires was amazing.

3. If you have a plasma or LCD TV capable of High Definition television, definitely get the HD service from your provider if you can afford the extra $10 a month. Watching the Olympics in HD makes the experience so much better. A cheaper solution? Get a digital antenna to receive over-the-air HD programming for free. Major stations like NBC/ABC/CBS has been broadcasting over-the-air HD for a while now.

4. DVR is great. The Chinatown Blogger understands all these expenses add up, but if you can afford the extra money for the DVR service, the Olympic events can be recorded at 2:30am and watched the next day. (The Chinatown Blogger uses Verizon FIOS with HD/DVR service and running on a 46″ 1080p LCD. The surround sound system is curently disabled due to a neighbor complaining of excessive noise during the Celtics playoff run.)

5. Hidden humor in the interview between NBC’s Bob Costas and George Bush. If you look in the background, there is a portrait of Mao Zedong overlooking the plaza. At certain angles, American audiences saw Costas, Bush and Mao.

6. Jonathan Horton was clutch. Too bad U.S. team couldn’t hold onto lead for silver, especially when his teammates were pulling in 12 and 13 points and the team needed an average of 15 to win silver.

That’s it. Enjoy the Olympics and the few weeks left in the summer!

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July 29, 2008 by Chinatown Blogger.

Chinese Immigrant Memorial at Mount Hope Cemetery, Mattapan, MA

The oldest Chinatown in the U.S. is in San Francisco, founded in the 1850s (Chinatowns exist in many other countries). Boston Chinatown was established in the early 1870s after a group of 75 workers were brought to work in the Sampson shoe factory in North Adams, MA and eventually migrated to Boston. These first Chinese who came to the U.S. were no different than many other immigrant groups. They faced hardship and discrimination but also persevered and founded communities. Many of them came seeking work and to start a new life. Others had planned on saving enough money and going back home.

However, some of these pionneers never made their way back home and died as bachelors. Without families and descendants, family associations paid for their burial. Their bodies were buried in several lots at Mount Hope Cemetery in Mattapan. Many had just a simple marker to note their passing, but these early Chinese settlers formed Boston Chinatown’s identity and history. This past weekend, the Chinatown Blogger visited Mount Hope Cemetery.

Many early Chinese settlers died without family in the U.S. Buried at Mount Hope Cemetery, their tombstones fell into disrepair over time.

George Yuen, Nov. 28, 1882 - Sept. 22, 1953. Yuen was born in the year the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed. The Act restricted the immigration of Chinese to the U.S. for over 60 years. “Any Chinese who left the United States had to obtain certifications for reentry, and the Act made Chinese immigrants permanent aliens by excluding them from U.S. citizenship. After the Act’s passage, Chinese men in the U.S. had little chance of ever reuniting with their wives, or of starting families in their new home.”(Wikipedia)

Over time, the the graves had fallen into disrepair. Many of the markers were knocked down and broken, possibly by vandalism. In 2007, the Chinese Immigrant Memorial was built to commemorate these pioneers’ journey. The Chinese Historical Society of New England spearheaded the project with the goal to: 1) build a new memorial altar, 2) create landscape improvements, 3) restore and replace crumbling tombstones and catalog the names.

The Chinese translation for the inscriptions:
“Remembering those who came before you”
“Long rivers flow from distant origins”
“Abundant leaves flourish from deep roots”

Mount Hope Cemetery
355 Walk Hill Street
Mattapan, MA 02126
(617) 635-7361

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October 15, 2007 by Chinatown Blogger.

This Sunday, the Chinatown Blogger visited the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. The museum has an extensive collection of Asian arts and the special exhibit, Yin Yu Tang, a 18th century Chinese house. The museum was established in 1799 as the East India Marine Society and later merged to become to the Peabody Essex Museum in 1992.

The Chinatown Blogger, out of respect for the museum, only took photos of the displays advertising the exhibits.

The Yin Yu Tang is the prized exhibit of the PEM. The house is 200 years old and belonged to the Huang family of Anhui, China. The house was meticulously disassembled and and shipped to the museum to be reassembled again. There is also a Yin Yu Tang gallery along with a video documenting life in rural China.

Other Asian exhibits included Perfect Imbalance, which runs until May 2009 and Gateway Bombay, a series of paintings and photos documenting life in Bombay, or what is now known as Mumbai. In addition to these special exhibits, the museum has permanent galleries of arts from China, Japan, Korea, and the Pacific Islands. One of the neat special exhibits was the Mysterious Photos, a collection of weird and funny Black and White photos of American life.

Founded by early ship merchants, the museum has a good collection of early American maritime arts. These included model ships and posters documenting their journeys across the Atlantic. The early ship merchants travelled to many parts of the world and collected (or stole, depending on how one sees it) items of interest. The Chinatown Blogger recalled 5-6 years ago when the Peabody Essex Museum displayed a collection from the Qing Imperial Court. The Chinatown Blogger kept pestering the tour guide how these Imperial items came into the hands of Americans and why it wasn’t the property of the Chinese government. The tour guide glared back with annoyance. The objects in question, seemed to have been “collected” or taken during the Boxer Rebellion when the city of Beijing was attacked by European and American forces. Anyhow, that’s old news and the Chinatown Blogger doesn’t hold any grudges but do wish that the truth be told on how museum artifacts were acquired.

Outside the museum, Salem was alive with vendors and performances in beautiful 60 degrees fall weather. A 3-man band performed Beatles cover songs while a street cart sold kettled popcorn, “slightly sweet and salty”. As this being Salem, the place where supposed witches were found, there were the usual promotions for the Witch Museum and tours. If you ever get the chance, check out the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA.

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August 29, 2007 by Chinatown Blogger.

Dorchester is a section of Boston 2 to 3 miles south of Chinatown. It is home to a large Vietnamese population as well as the City of Boston’s first elected City Councilor of Asian American descent - Sam Yoon. I had rented in Dorchester for 5 years from 2000-2005. I remember one winter when I ran into Sam in the morning and it turned out he had recently purchased a home there, a triple-decker that was condo conversion. He was gracious enough to invite me into his home and introduced me to his family. I had known Sam before when he was a community planner for the Asian Community Development Corporation in Chinatown. We chatted a bit and he mentioned about running for City Council. It was the beginning of his campaign and he asked me to help. I declined at the time because I was in sales and I had hardly anytime off.Since then I’ve moved out of the neighborhood. This past Sunday my girlfriend and I were looking for something to do so we decided to go to Dorchester and take a stroll around the UMass campus and JFK Library. You can get to the UMass campus by taking the MBTA Red Line to JFK station and a free shuttle bus that runs every 20 minutes. We drove because parking is free on Sundays.There is a walking path that wraps around the university with views of the harbor and leads up to the JFK Library. UMass Boston is a commuter school because there is no on-site housing for students. The university is known for pioneering and creating one of best Asian American Studies Program in New England. The program is currently led by director/professor Peter Kiang, who was formerly a director for a Chinatown non-profit and serves on the board of the Chinese Historical Society of New England.

While visiting the UMass campus, another attraction is the JFK Library Museum. Dedicated to the late John F. Kennedy and his family, the best attractions were the large collection of personal items used by the former President and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Even a non-politico like my girlfriend was impressed the library had an actual dress once worn by the First Lady. Next to the dress was a photo of Jackie in the dress at a function. The day being Sunday, we only encountered a few people here and there who were jogging, walking their dogs or just sitting back and watching the harbor. Along the way is a dock that offered Boston Harbor Cruises every Monday. Near the entrance of the campus is a Vietnam Veterans Memorial f acing Morrissey Boulevard. On the Memorial are inscribed the names of soldiers who died in the war and were from the Dorchester area. On the bottom are chiseled the inscription “Through us they will live forever.” There are three pillars to the memorial. It was explained to me once that it represented the former countries of Indochina: Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. (Someone please correct me if I am wrong!). Alongside are benches inscribed with the army corps and the area they served in.

After the stroll if you find yourselves hungry, head over to Dorchester Avenue near Fields Corner. There are many Vietnamese restaurants in the area. My favorite is Pho 2000, which is at the corner of Adams St. and Dorchester Ave. After this Sunday, my girlfriend and I had already decided that the next place we visit should be North Adams in Western Mass. where a group of Chinese laborers were first brought over here to Massachusetts to work in a shoe factory.

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August 15, 2007 by Chinatown Blogger.

Going to Dunkin’ and caught in the downpour. While waiting for the rain to pass, I pulled out my camera.

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