This story is part of Asian American Bustle, an occasional series publishing during Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

When Johnny Lee looks at the statues of Guan Yu, Sun Tzu and other Chinese historical figures that stand guard over the heart of Richardson’s Chinatown, he pictures the days when the corner of Terrace Drive and Greenville Avenue in Richardson was an aging retail center: an auto repair and tire shop at the end of its road, a dried-out pottery store, a rain-stained Dairy Queen sign.

In the late-1980s, a group of about a dozen friends pooled their money and invested in the property that, decades later, has become one of North Texas’ longest surviving Asian American enclaves.

The investors saw potential in developing a retail center for a fast-growing community of Chinese-speaking immigrants, many of whom were from Taiwan, said Lee, the property manager. These families flocked to Richardson for its schools and nearby job opportunities, according to a historian and more than a half-dozen people with decadeslong ties to the community who spoke to The Dallas Morning News.

Those, like Lee, who have helped shepherd the plaza’s development say its identity as a place of culture is what has ensured its longevity — despite the pandemic and competition from other Asian American enclaves in Collin County and near Tarrant County. Richardson’s Chinatown isn’t just a product of people chasing fortune; it culminated from a yearning for togetherness and community.

To Lee, the statues symbolize the original investors’ wish to create a place where his community could celebrate their ancestry and Asian American identity. About 40 years after their dream was hatched, the retail center is filled with local small businesses, including a community center, an Asian American-owned bank and a grocery store.

“The owners of the shopping center, they had that kind of passion,” Lee said. “They wanted the culture and wanted a one-of-a-kind place called Chinatown — not just for the money.”

A suburban Chinatown

Stephanie Drenka, co-founder of the Dallas Asian American Historical Society, found through her research that Chinese immigrants were in Dallas as early as the 1870s. The organization’s first exhibit showcased many of North Texas’ historical Chinese-owned restaurants.

Multiple Chinese Americans — some with connections to North Texas spanning more than 70 years ― who spoke with The Dallas Morning News described the different waves of immigration into the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Jay Teng’s parents, Hsi Ching “H.C.” and Catherine Teng, moved to Dallas in 1948 when, he estimated, less than a hundred people of Chinese descent lived in the area. The couple helped establish the First Chinese Baptist Church of Dallas.

“What is here in this Chinatown never existed in the past. But you have to remember, when I grew up, there was virtually nothing north of [Interstate] 635,” Jay Teng said.

He said he first noticed a large increase in the Chinese-speaking immigrant population in the 1970s, after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

The growth of Richardson’s Chinatown was fueled by an increase of Chinese-speaking immigrants from Taiwan who moved to North Texas during that time period through the early 2000s.

Charles Ku came to the U.S. from Taiwan in 1967 and attended Baylor University. In the 1970s, he came to Dallas and got a degree in dentistry. He retired from his 48-year-old practice in Lewisville about a year ago, Ku said. He is active in multiple organizations, including the Greater Dallas Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce and the Sun Ray Chinese School.

Ku said he thinks Chinese-speaking immigrant families were attracted to Richardson in the 1980s and 1990s because of the quality of its school district. He attributed some of the population’s growth to employment opportunities with companies in the city, including Texas Instruments. The University of Texas at Dallas was also a pull for Chinese-speaking immigrants who came to the U.S. with student visas, Ku said.

The area really seemed to find its footing in the early 2000s, Ku and Lee each said. By this time, restaurants such as Jeng Chi, Genroku Sushi & Grill and Canton Chinese Food arrived at the retail center. Owners of DFW Chinatown also started renovations to better match architecture seen in California and New York Chinatowns.

“I was just overjoyed that you have a place that you can meet your fellow countrymen and then, you know, talk the same language, eat the same food. It’s a wonderful feeling,” Ku said.

Richardson already had Chinese restaurants and a Chinese grocery store by the 1980s and a Chinese-language newspaper called the Dallas Chinese Daily.

What helped cement the area’s Chinatown identity was the community center.

Molding the next generation

The Dallas Chinese Community Center’s programs, which include English as a second language courses as well as health-related seminars, are designed for anyone who needs the services, regardless of national or ethnic identity, said Lisa Chang Ahnert, an executive board member of the community center.

Volunteers for the center also help host Lunar New Year celebrations.

Even as the sound of firecrackers and lion dance performances at Richardson’s Chinatown simmer down for the year, its community center remains active with classes, including those for tech literacy, calligraphy, tai chi and dancing. It has served as a place for community building for decades, Ahnert, 76, said.

Like many nonprofits, the organization is always desperate for funding, and it hasn’t gotten easier in recent years, she said. The center took a sizeable hit when it had to put a hold on one of its largest fundraising events during the coronavirus pandemic.

Grants have been a major financial crutch for the center, she said.

The retail center provides the community center a stable home base, while the center brings in the “vibe of it being more than just” retail, she said.

“Johnny [Lee] really has done a lot to promote the existence of Chinatown,” Ahnert said. “But without DCCC running programs, bringing in steady audiences and natural visitors, you know, I think it would have been very difficult for Chinatown to organize itself.”

The community center is seeing the need for a younger generation to lead the organization, said executive board member Jessica Chu. Her exposure to the center came from her mother, who also serves on the board of directors.

“It was kind of in my DNA to help out the community I grew up in,” she said.

Younger people step up during large events, such as Lunar New Year celebrations, Chu said. The center’s leaders, many of whom are in their 60s and 70s, are looking for that youth on the board, however.

“It’s tricky to have people commit to one specific organization at that time of their life. Maybe they’re figuring out their job situation, or their life situation,” Chu said.

Chu also helps run DFW Chinese Youth Camp, a summer camp with a variety of programs for children ages 10 to 18, including leadership seminars and volunteer events. Former campers often turn into volunteers as they age, Chu said. Many of the group’s events are held at the community center.

She said the program helps mold leaders not only in the Asian American community, but in education and work spaces.

“They’ve seen the benefits of the center and they’re willing to reinforce the mission and help out their community, and that’s what I love about it,” Chu said. “In some ways, that hopefully will create a younger generation that is passionate about the center.”

‘A regional powerhouse’

The impact that the Chinese American community has had on Richardson isn’t lost on city officials, who say they’re committed to making sure Chinatown has a permanent home. For the past three years, Richardson has partnered with the community center to host the city’s Lunar New Year celebration.

City Manager Don Magner said appreciation for Chinatown isn’t new, but city officials have realized the role the area plays in the city’s downtown “core district.”

“We wanted to leverage the regional popularity of DFW Chinatown, and make that part of the core district so that the other areas in the other sub districts in the core district would benefit from DFW Chinatown,” Magner said.

Populations may grow, shrink or move, Magner said, but he thinks the draw of Richardson’s Chinatown is not limited by city boundaries.

“I think our Chinatown is more resilient and can handle that ebb and flow over the years, because it is such a regional powerhouse,” Magner said.

Support from community leaders and city officials plays a large role in Chinatown’s success, but the retail center needs people to carry the vision of the original investors forward.

Helen Du said she bought in as a minority shareholder in the DFW Chinatown retail center in the early 2010s.

Du moved to North Texas in 1993 to get her master’s degree at the University of North Texas. She estimated she was among about 150 students, many of them men, from mainland China at the university.

She learned about the history of Chinese immigration to Texas from her sponsor family, the Chews — a Cantonese and English-speaking family with connections to the Taishan region and ties to Texas dating back to the 1940s. That’s also where she gained a keen appreciation for Asian American history in North Texas.

Growth of the population who either identified as Chinese and Taiwanese in places like Frisco and Plano has far outpaced Richardson according to five-year U.S. census estimates spanning from 2008 to 2022. Multiple clusters of Asian-owned businesses have sprung up in Collin County, anchored by grocery stores like 99 Ranch Market.

But there’s just something unique about the corner of Terrace Drive and Greenville Avenue in Richardson, Du said.

“Still, Chinatown is Chinatown, right?” she said.

Staff researchers Spencer Bevis and Jennifer Brancato contributed to this report.