Chinatown Park

East meets West in this one-acre serpentine park on the edge of Boston's Chinatown. Officially opened to the public on Sept. 12, 2007, guests are greeted in this gentrified part of town called Chinatown Park by red august gates. One of the structures is inspired by traditional Chinese design, while the other is contemporary.

It's a compelling display of juxtaposition, where old meets new, urban meets agrarian and East meets West.

When entering Chinatown Park, visitors walk through a Zen-like garden chock full of towering bamboo, colorful azaleas and Chinese willows and pass by a babbling fountain that leads to the old Chinatown Gate, a three-century old monolith of red and gilded gold that was a gift from Taiwan in honor of Chinatown's centennial.

The first in a series of three new Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway parks, the Chinatown addition was formerly an off ramp from Interstate 93.

California artist May Sun recently unveiled a public art display, a collection of stainless steel and colorful concrete, in front of the Chinatown Gate. The artist found inspiration from a Chinese chess board, and crafted a map of Boston in the heart of the square highlighting Chinatown, South Station and the Fort Point Channel neighborhoods.

The park has become a hub of Asian-inspired events, including Tai Chi lessons, tournaments (ping pong, chess, or checkers), cultural festivals, music and dance.

New England’s only historically Chinese area, Boston’s Chinatown became a haven for immigrants fleeing anti-Asian biases in California in the 1880s. Garment manufacturing plants soon moved into the area and became a vital aspect of the neighborhood until the early ‘90s.

Construction of the Southeast Expressway gutted the neighborhood in the 1950s, and the city’s burgeoning red-light district, The Combat Zone, ran adjacent to the neighborhood. With the recent revitalization of the area and the redevelopment of the Theatre District, Chinatown has undergone gentrification with ultra-chic condos, restaurants and the recent addition of the Chinatown Park.

- by Sam Baltrusis, Boston Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Sam Baltrusis

Sam Baltrusis has worked for WHDH.com, Spike-TV, VH1, Independent News, Seventeen, Newsweek, and as a regional stringer for The New York Times. He's currently a full-time freelance editor and writer in Boston, where he's an instructor for Mediabistro.com and contributes to various regional publications including Boston Spirit Magazine. Sam also publishes a successful pop culture site, LoadedGunBoston.com, and was recently featured on WCVB-TV's "Chronicle" and Boston's NPR affiliate WBUR.