chinatown
i’ve always been fascinated by cities. throughout my travels, both local and abroad, i’ve aimed to understand both the characteristics that unqiuely define a city, and those that are shared. chinatown is a visual exploration of these themes, stemming from my desire to better understand how cities operate and to contextualize these ethnic enclaves within their broader urban environments. all photos were shot on 35mm film, using either a canon ae-1p or a nikon f100. thanks for reading. agastya mondal 2019
flushing, queens, new york city flushing is home to one of the world’s largest chinatowns. i found myself there in january of 2018, when a deep polar vortex had descended on the city - pushing temperatures well below zero. nonetheless, a long ride on the MTA’s 7 train brought me to the heart of one of new york’s most lively neighborhoods.
lower east side manhattan, new york city manhattan’s own chinatown, situated in the diverse lower east side, is home to the highest concentration of chinese speakers in the western hemisphere. between 2017 and 2018, i made many trips to new york city and often found myself wandering through chinatown’s labyrinthine streets.
beach & tyler streets boston, massachusetts boston’s small chinatown is a humble but lively enclave of restaurants, bakeries, and cafes. i moved to boston in late 2018, and have since found myself wandering chinatown’s streets on many occasions. interestingly, boston’s is the only remaining chinatown in new england. these photos were primarily taken in early 2019, as winter’s grip over the city slowly loosened.
petaling street kuala lumpur, malaysia this december, i was fortunate enough to spend 24 hours in malaysia’s capital. though it was a quick trip, i explored a bit of kuala lumpur’s chinatown, centered around petaling street in the city’s center. given its location, kuala lumpur boasts a diverse population, mixing many southeast asian cultures. in that sense, i found kuala lumpur’s chinatown to be less separate than others i have visited, and more of a natural extension of the city’s natural diversity.