New York's most exotic neighborhood: China Town's weird food

New York's most exotic neighborhood. How come there's so many Chinese?! All of New York City is certainly a treasure trove of the outlandish and unusual. Not just for the newcomers, but for everyone who lives there. I don't know of another such a mysterious, multi-ethnic city. People of all colors and nationalities coexist in it. But how do they get there? Everyone has their own way.

The famous China Town neighborhood was born in the 1870s. The first Chinese settled in the neighborhood in 1860s and their number did not exceed 150 people. But after 10 years there were already more than 2 thousand! More and more Chinese were moving to the East Coast to New York from the distant California West, where in turn they moved in huge numbers due to the gold rush.

But why move east, did the gold run out? On the contrary! The Chinese commune grew rapidly and wealthy, they took root in this sunshine state and began "taking" jobs from the locals. In California, the gold rush was coming to an end as well as the construction of a huge railroad project and then the massive interracial riots over unemployment began. In a violent struggle against immigrants who were thought to be taking away already scarce jobs, life for the Chinese became almost unbearable and dangerous. They had no choice but to look for another place to live and work, because the main purpose of their stay in America was money. So the Chinese community of New York began to grow rapidly. 99% of the population of China Town in the very beginning consisted of men - they were male labor ghettos. Over time, the situation changed.

Now China Town is like a little Shanghai: countless businesses of all kinds, 4th-5th generation Chinese who live within these few blocks, and the most authentic traditions that they honor and preserve. Speaking of traditions the first thing that comes to mind is the national cuisine. In our search for exotic food for our #scarygood column , it was no accident that we wandered into Chinatown.

Here you'll find pigeon meat, pig ears, duck beaks, live toads and dried tree mushrooms. We invite you to join us on our journey through New York's most mysterious neighborhood.