A freeway tore through this Chinatown decades ago. Now a new threat looms

There are plans to unite Philadelphia’s divided Chinatown with a highway cap – but a new arena could hurt the neighborhood yet again

If you ask for directions in Philadelphia’s Chinatown, chances are someone will either tell you to head “north of the highway” or “south of the highway”. That’s because this community has been carved into two.

It is one of the oldest and largest Chinatowns in the US. Yet landmarks like the Holy Redeemer church and the Crane community center are separated from others – like the famous dim sum spot Bai Wei or the Chinatown firehouse – by six lanes of busy traffic.