There are many well-known Chinatowns in the world’s major cities. New York’s Chinatown is the largest in the world. For one and a half centuries thousands of ethnic Chinese have lived in southern part of Manhattan. San Francisco is home to the oldest Chinatown in the US. It dates back to the 1840s when many people rushed to the west coast in search of gold. It was the hub to Chinese coming across the Pacific Ocean to America.