Chinese American enclaves in the San Gabriel Valley

The Asian-American influx into the southwestern portion of the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, grew rapidly when Chinese immigrants began settling in Monterey Park in the 1970s. Located just east of the city of Los Angeles, the region has achieved international prominence as a hub of overseas Chinese, or hua qiao. Although Chinese immigrants were a noteworthy presence in the establishment of Southern California from the 19th century, significant Chinese migration to suburban San Gabriel Valley coincided with a trend of white out-migration from the 1970s onward. This opened an opportunity for middle-class Asian Americans to begin settling in the San Gabriel Valley.

High property values, crime, and overcrowding in Monterey Park have contributed to a secondary movement away from that city, and the Chinese community is now spread over a cluster of cities in the San Gabriel Valley. Suburban cities in the valley besides Monterey Park with large Chinese populations, also called ethnoburbs, include Alhambra, Arcadia, Rosemead, San Marino, San Gabriel, South Pasadena, and Temple City and then eastward to Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, the City of Industry, Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, Walnut, and West Covina. Due to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the 1942 internment of Japanese, and racial covenant laws, Asian economic and social assimilation were halted for many years. The only Asian cultural hubs were Chinatown and Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles, though populations persisted elsewhere. Since the passage of the 1965 Immigration Act, there has been an influx of some 20 million Asian immigrants to the United States, many of whom settled in Monterey Park due to its close proximity to Chinatown, suburban appeal, and "superior public education" to LAUSD. This continued through the 1970s with the arrival of ethnic Chinese refugees from Vietnam, affluent waisheng ren Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese. This moratorium was challenged and defeated in 1989, but it caused many Asian residents and businesses to move to the neighboring city of Alhambra, later spreading eastward to more communities.

By 1996, the population of Monterey Park was 65% Asian, primarily Chinese. By 2000, many Chinatown residents and businesses had moved to the San Gabriel Valley.

The creation of this major hub, which is a cultural center with many suburban cities, is an "Asian Pacific American phenomenon". Asian communities in the valley extend as far north as San Marino and Arcadia and as far south as Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights. This tourism boom is bringing about the construction of additional hotels as many Chinese tourists prefer to rent rooms in San Gabriel, even if they plan to visit typical Southern California tourist destinations. Popular food festival 626 Night Market in Arcadia, California, was also named after the area code as a "mecca for the Chinese food-obsessed."

Monterey Park

From the 1970s on, Taiwanese immigrants began settling in Monterey Park and the nearby communities of Alhambra, and Rosemead. The area was not too far from the Los Angeles Chinatown commercial area and was becoming a Chinese-influenced community. This trend included affluent Chinese professionals, mostly from Taiwan. At that time, Monterey Park was being marketed by realtors in Taiwan and Hong Kong as the "Chinese Beverly Hills," to entice future investors. Chinese shopping centers—with supermarkets serving as anchors—were developed to serve the new residents. Time magazine, Los Angeles Times, and The Atlantic Monthly. Monterey Park's effect on tourism in Los Angeles was featured on the "Life and Times" show on the L.A. former-PBS affiliate KCET.

thumb|left|Monterey Park, California

Little Taipei (Chinese: 小臺北) was an informal name given to the city of Monterey Park, California, in the late 1970s because of the large immigrant population from Taiwan. According to the Monterey Park Chamber of Commerce, within the city's limits, there are more than 60 Chinese restaurants, more than 50 realty companies, several Chinese supermarkets, scores of dental, medical, accounting and legal offices, and dozens of shopping centers. In Alhambra, Arcadia, and San Gabriel, the Asian population was 48.91 percent, as of the 2000 census. Montebello is also included as it has had a significant (almost 25%) Asian population for several decades after seceding from Monterey Park.

San Gabriel

right|thumb|200px|San Gabriel Square

The city of San Gabriel boasts a mixture of Asian, European, and North American cultures. Second- and third-generation Chinese Americans patronize its diverse array of stores and eateries. There is the "San Gabriel Square" mall that has been mentioned in the Los Angeles Times as "the great mall of China." This stretch of Chinese shops and bold architecture, with roofs of Spanish-style tile, is the model for the new ethnoburbs recently recognized in areas like the Las Vegas Valley and Houston. Chi Mui became the city's first Chinese American mayor in 2006.

Rowland Heights

Chinese businesses were formerly more spread out in Rowland Heights, an unincorporated area with a Chinese retail corridor on Colima Road and Nogales Street and intermixed with a Korean community. Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese, with number of ethnic Chinese from South Korea, and Vietnam, immigrant businesses, namely the eateries, banks, and offices, are gradually occupying the various strip malls across the Puente Hills Mall and in Hacienda Heights and City of Industry. The population is now 55 percent Asian.

Rowland Heights remains the Chinese commercial/cultural center in East San Gabriel.

In addition to Rowland Heights and Hacienda Heights, Eastern San Gabriel Valley areas with a high percentage of Asian residents are West Covina, Walnut, and Diamond Bar.

Temple City

According to the 2020 United States census, 64.1% of residents in Temple City identify as Asian. That proportion has expanded significantly from the 2000 census, where the racial makeup of the city was reported to be 38.89% Asian.

Along Las Tunas Boulevard, the "Bridal District" of Asian businesses along the stretch of the downtown area has made Temple City a bride's "mecca" for all wedding needs including elaborate dresses, as Asian brides often wear three gowns. Also included are several florists and lavish portrait studios supporting the Asian tradition of taking studio quality photos of the bride and groom before the wedding. Asian brides come from as far away as New York City to visit this Temple City specialty sector.

Valley Boulevard Corridor

L.A. County

Asian-American ethnoburbs can be found in the South Bay, Los Angeles, and San Fernando Valley, and may include South Asians. These include Sawtelle (West Los Angeles), San Pedro (due to its proximity to the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach), and Pasadena, though Pasadena's historic Japantowns are no longer hubs of the Japanese American communities. The towns of Artesia, Cerritos, Gardena, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Lakewood, Long Beach, Carson, Lomita, Norwalk, Redondo Beach, Torrance, and Whittier have some Asian-American neighborhoods and businesses/malls.

Similar enclaves outside L.A. County

Experts said they predict more Asian-oriented supermarkets of these types to open in other Inland cities in coming years, including Corona, California, whose Asian population jumped from 8 percent to 11 percent from 2000 to 2005.

Chinese and Asian-American ethnoburbs also can be found in Chino, Chino Hills, San Bernardino, Calico, a section of Barstow, Fontana, Riverside, Moreno Valley, San Jacinto, Desert Hot Springs north of Palm Springs, Victorville, Loma Linda, and elsewhere (i.e. the San Diego area, Bakersfield, and San Luis Obispo).

Outside the Greater Los Angeles Area, Chinese ethnoburbs are also found in the San Francisco Bay Area, where ethnic Chinese populations are largely concentrated in cities of the East Bay and Santa Clara County. The most prominent Chinese ethnoburb in the region is found in the city of Milpitas, which has a population that is over 60% Asian as of the 2010 U.S. Census. Chinese-oriented shopping centers, markets, and community centers are spread around the city. Other suburbs which have large Chinese populations and commercial activity include Fremont, Cupertino, San Leandro, and Sunnyvale, with the former two having majority Asian American populations and the latter two with plurality Asian American populations as of the 2010 U.S. Census.

Population

List of cities and CDP with Chinese American (Including Taiwanese American) population, according to the 2011–2015 American Community Survey and the 2010 United States Census.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! City/CDP

! data-sort-type="number"|Chinese<br />

! data-sort-type="number"|Percentage<br />

! data-sort-type="number"|Chinese<br />

! data-sort-type="number"|Taiwanese<br />

| Alhambra

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| Altadena

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| Arcadia

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| Avocado Heights

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| Azusa

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| Baldwin Park

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| Bradbury

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| Charter Oak

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| Citrus

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| Claremont

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| Covina

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| Diamond Bar

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| Duarte

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| East Pasadena

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| East San Gabriel

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| El Monte

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| Glendora

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| Hacienda Heights

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| Industry

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| La Cañada Flintridge

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| La Habra Heights

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| La Puente

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| La Verne

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| Mayflower Village

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| Monrovia

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| Montebello

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| Monterey Park

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| North El Monte

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| Pasadena

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| Pomona

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| Rosemead

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| Rowland Heights

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| San Dimas

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| San Gabriel

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| San Marino

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| San Pasqual

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| Sierra Madre

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| South El Monte

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| South Pasadena

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| South San Gabriel

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| South San Jose Hills

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| Temple City

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| Valinda

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| Vincent

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| Walnut

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| West Covina

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| West Puente Valley

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| Whittier

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Chinese American enclaves in the San Gabriel Valley

Monterey Park

San Gabriel

Rowland Heights

Temple City

Valley Boulevard Corridor

L.A. County

Similar enclaves outside L.A. County

Population

See also

References

Further reading