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Offered languages
- English
Step into Chinatown’s narrow alleys and crooked lanes, where paper lanterns and neon signs cast their glow over stories that were never meant for daylight.
On this historical walking tour, we follow the ghosts of tongs, triads, and street gangs through the very streets where opium once drifted from dens in the 1930s and heroin money flowed into gambling halls.
What you’ll experience:
- Walk the crime-scene streets: Trace a route from Canal Street into the tight alleys of Mott, Pell, and Doyers, where immigrant boarding houses and secret society clubhouses for the corrupted elite.
- On Doyers Street, you’ll hear how this crooked lane became a killing ground for tong gunmen. Learn how coded knocks, and windowless rooms fed New York’s appetite for opium.
- Walk through gang turf claimed by Ghost Shadows, Flying Dragons, and their rivals, how they built multimillion-dollar heroin drug networks
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
We will Meet right in front of the Statute. I’ll be wearing a red 1930s straw hat with a suit and tie, also will be carrying black umbrella.
The Last Opium Den in NYC which was raided in 1957.
Itinerary
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1Statue of Confucius
Confucius Plaza & Lin Zexu Monument: Moral Order vs. Underworld. The Confucius statue (15-foot bronze) and related monuments emphasize traditional values: family, education, honor, and moral order. These values are especially important in a community that has faced discrimination and been stereotyped as a “criminal” enclave. We will discuss the importance of Lin Zexu and anti-opium symbolism.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2
We will walk the crime-scene streets of Old Chinatown Trace a route from Canal Street into the tight alleys of Mott, Pell, and Doyers, where immigrant boarding houses, opium joints, and secret society clubhouses once turned this neighborhood into a real-world noir.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3Columbus Park
Columbus Park: “The People’s Park” & Shadow Economy: Columbus Park is a vibrant public space: seniors playing cards, martial artists, vendors, and families. It’s a symbol of Chinatown’s resilience. But the same networks that once controlled opium and heroin also used such spaces for informal meetings, gambling, and information exchange among underworld figures.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4Canal Street
Canal Street: You’re about to walk through the story of how a neighborhood of excluded immigrants became a global symbol of Chinese culture—and also a hotspot for organized crime in the 1880-1980s.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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