Visit Chinatown with the Mott Street Girls: Final Tour on Sunday

CHINATOWN, NY — They are the Mott Street Girls. Anna Huang and Chloe Chan, both second-generation Chinese American, are the cofounders and tour guides of the Mott Street Girls Chinatown Walking Tour.

New-York born Chan has been leading the walking tours while Huang currently works on logistics and coordination of the walking tours from her hometown in Boston (she plans on returning to NYC).

"We were former volunteer tour guides at the Museum of Chinese in America," said Chan. "That's kind of where we gained our knowledge of Chinese American history, from the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act until the present day."

Unfortunately because of the pandemic, the tours ended and the museum closed.

"That's why we wanted to start our own thing," said Chan. "We still thought those lessons that we learned at the museum and the narrative is still really important, especially, in [the] present day Asian American experience."

Technically, Chan and Huang lead two different walking tours in Chinatown. One is the smaller and more intimate AirBnb experience with one or two people called "Relive Life Under the Chinese Exclusion." The larger "Beyond the Storefronts: Chinatown Walking Tour" usually books around 10 to 15 people. This particular walking tour will end with one final tour on Sunday, June 6 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. [Link to reserve tickets is at the bottom of the page.].

The tours have attracted a diverse crowd of locals and tourists, and the Mott Street Girls say that many leave with a new and profound perspective of Chinatown.

"Chinatown is one of the last few working class communities in Manhattan," said Chan. "They have generations in the third, fourth and fifth. I think people who haven't been to Chinatown will be drawn by the immigrant grit and resilience."

What are some of the Mott Street Girls' favorite spots on the walking tour?

The former Chinese Opera House (now Chinese Tuxedo) is one, said Chan, because of its history and its transformation into an upscale Chinese dining experience. She also chose Pasteur Grill & Noodles, for the immigrant stories that lie just beyond the doors. "It's like the oldest Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown," said Chan. "Also the owners have gone through a lot of trial and tribulation escaping the Vietnam War and coming here."

Huang pointed to the Tenement Museum for a couple of reasons. For one, the walking tour idea blossomed during a meal at a restaurant close by, Big Wong.

"It just brings in a lot of history about what people's living conditions were like back then," said Huang. "And the first tenement building is in Chinatown, which could be surprising to a lot of people. But that's where a lot of the immigrants first came in—the Jewish, the Irish, the Italians and then the Chinese. I feel like it's combining a lot of history of immigration."

The Mott Street Girls Walking Tour also highlights issues that might not be obvious. While it's a known fact that many businesses faced struggles during the pandemic, Chinatown businesses not only faced the obvious language barriers of applying for financial assistance, but also a federal funding gap. Chan said because some Chinatown businesses share zip codes with the more affluent Tribeca and Soho neighborhoods, this has prevented some Chinatown businesses from receiving federal aid.

Eight of the businesses shown on the Mott Street Girls Walking Tour were impacted by this funding gap.

Chan said that, "While data and statistics can kind of paint a general picture of what Chinatown has been suffering during the pandemic, it's not until we put faces behind these shops and the stories that people have a lasting impression of these important businesses."

You can book the final "Beyond the Storefronts: Chinatown Walking Tour" on Sunday, June 6 here. Tickets are $35 per person. All proceeds go to Welcome to Chinatown’s Longevity Fund and support Chinatown local businesses. Ticket price includes tour and a surprise gift.

For the AirBnB experience "Relive Life Under the Chinese Exclusion" Tour, visit this page. Tickets are $23 per person.