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People's Map of Chinatown Packs in History, Place

Despite the concerns around crime, the statistics point to a safer Chinatown — and city — over recent years. According to Sampan’s analysis of BPD data, total reported crime in the Chinatown neighborhood, as defined by the Boston Planning and Development Agency’s boundaries, decreased by 15% between 2021 and 2025. The homicide count was zero in that 5-year period.

Boston's Zoning Commission has adopted new zoning rules for Chinatown on June 17 that the Boston Planning Department says will make it "easier for people to open small businesses, protect the historical row houses in the neighborhood, and improve the climate resilience" of the historic and cultural section of Downtown.

The exhibit “Busing the Buffer Zone” uses art and theater to explore the experience of Chinatown mothers who boycotted busing of students in Boston Public Schools in 1975. The exhibition, which includes a play by Christina R. Chan and an exhibition at the Pao Arts Center, runs through March 28. The stage readings are slated for March 28 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Pao Arts Center. An open rehearsal is March 20.

Daphne Xu’s new project “Boston Busing in Chinatown, 1975,” a photographic installation, just opened early this month along the Greenway, near the Chinatown Gate.

At the Josiah Quincy Elementary and Upper Schools located in the heart of Chinatown, Bak-Fun Wong is known as a “living legend.”

Most people know Suzanne Lee for two things: her career in the Boston Public Schools system, and her work building organizations in Chinatown. Today, she is the president emeritus of the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA), board president of the Chinatown Community Land Trust, and a well-recognized and -loved leader in the community. Here is her story.