Free cancellationFull refund up to 24 hours before
Instant confirmationYour booking is confirmed right away
TicketMobile or paper ticket accepted
LanguagesEnglish
Group sizeUp to 15 travelers
Overview
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
Walking tour and great tips and insights to navigating the city
What to expect
Statue of Confucius
15m
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.
30m
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.
Columbus Park
15m
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.
Canal Street
30m
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.
Meeting and pickup
Meeting point
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.
End point
The Last Opium Den in NYC which was raided in 1957.
Additional information
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
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
