6 of the world's choicest Chinatowns

[EnLinea Media]

恭喜發財! (That's kung hei fat choy to you.) As hundreds of millions ring in the Year of the Monkey for Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year), I'm reminded of one of the Chinese diaspora's great gifts to travelers across the planet: funky Chinatowns where the age-old culture of the Middle Kingdom(and increasingly, other parts of Asia) meets a variety of others in sometimes fascinating ways. The best are the traditional ones, which developed organically, as opposed to a recent trend of "Chinatowns" fabricated in various cities like Las Vegas and Dubai which are essentially themed malls. But ersatz or historic, today is a big day in... keep reading