Chinatown Cultural Plaza

Inside this utilitarian mall, covering almost an entire city block, traditional acupuncturists, tailors and calligraphers work alongside travel agencies and dim-sum halls. In the small open-air central courtyard, elderly Chinese people light incense before a statue of Kuan Yin. The bland 1970s complex replaced a notorious warren of tiny alleys and back street shops of dubious repute. Outside on the riverside River St Pedestrian Mall, senior citizens practice tai chi after dawn and play checkers, cards and mahjong all day.