From Chinatown to Every Town : How Chinese Immigrants Have Expanded the Restaurant Business in the United States

__From Chinatown to Every Town__ explores the recent history of Chinese immigration within the United States and the fundamental changes in spatial settlement that have relocated many low-skilled Chinese immigrants from New York City's Chinatown to new immigrant destinations. Using a mixed-method approach over a decade in Chinatown and six destination states, sociologist Zai Liang specifically examines how the expansion and growing popularity of Chinese restaurants has shifted settlement to more rural and faraway areas. Liang's study demonstrates that key players such as employment agencies, Chinatown buses, and restaurant supply shops facilitate the spatial dispersion of immigrants while simultaneously maintaining vital links between Chinatown in Manhattan and new immigrant destinations. "From Chinatown to Every Town explores the long history of Chinese immigration within the U.S. Zai Liang studies the fundamental shift of spatial settlement for low-skilled Chinese immigrants from New York City's Chinatown towards new immigrant destinations. Beginning in the 1990s, Liang examines the role of Chinese restaurants' expansion and their growing popularity on the subsequent shift in settlement to more rural areas. Using a mixed method approach over a decade in Chinatown and six immigrant destination states, From Chinatown to Every Town explores key players such as employment agencies, Chinatown bus, and supply chain shops to argue how they together facilitate the process of spatial dispersion of immigrants and at the same time maintain linkages between Chinatown in Manhattan and new immigrant destinations"-- Provided by publisher Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. Job Search: From Immigrant Networks to Market-Based Institutions 3. Making the Connection: The Story of the Chinatown Bus 4. Choices for New Immigrant Destinations 5. New Businesses in New Places: Adaptation and Race Relations 6. The Ties That Bind: Between Chinatown in Manhattan and New Immigrant Destinations 7. Conclusion Appendix A: Methods Appendix B: Analysis of Job Locations Notes References Index