Author Description

"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"--