Get to the Chinatown Night Market before it ends this summer

Four years after it launched, the Chinatown Night Market is coming to a close, with the first of its two final installments this Friday, July 25. The final night market will take place Aug. 15.

The nonprofit organization Think!Chinatown organizes the open-air festival at the base of the Manhattan Bridge, which draws thousands to a Chinatown corridor to enjoy street food, live music and folk art and soak in summer under strings of yellow lanterns.

The popular festival draws thousands of visitors throughout each night, but needs to evolve because of the prohibitive cost, according to Think!Chinatown Director Yin Kong. She said costs for every production run into the tens of thousands.

Corporate sponsorships that once helped cover the bills have also dried up, Kong said, citing the general economic environment and a pullback in nonprofit funding. This year’s final season was made possible with last-minute support from smaller community partners and local groups.

“We’re not here to make money off of the vendors, we’re here to serve our community,” Kong said. “Even though it’s a very popular festival, we’ll continue programming at Forsyth Plaza, just in a different way.”

The Chinatown Night Market began in the summer of 2021, when the neighborhood was reeling from shuttered storefronts, declining foot traffic and a spike in anti-Asian violence in the wake of COVID-19 shutdowns.

“People were scared to go outside, especially at night,” Kong said. “We really wanted to start something that could bring people back out.”

During the day, the stretch of Forsyth Street alongside the Manhattan Bridge ramp is a bustling produce market. But it's largely abandoned at night, and even lacks streetlights.

Think!Chinatown brings in lighting and portable toilets for the event, thanks to help from corporate sponsors, neighborhood partners and a small army of volunteers.

Chinatown favorites like Grand Tea & Imports, Yu and Me Books are among the vendors, and the range of food includes stinky tofu, buns, momos and skewers grilled to order. There are also DJs spinning classic Chinese pop songs, who trade off with a live jazz band.

Think!Chinatown plans to refocus energy on producing cultural events around the neighborhood, including Chinese opera, music and dance, without the high logistical overhead of a nighttime festival with food.

The group has also put proposals to make the area safer, more well-lit and usable year-round before the city’s Department of Transportation.

The Chinatown Night Market is Friday, July 25 and Aug. 15 on Forsyth Plaza, at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge.

The event is free and all-ages.

More details are available here.

Correction: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect date for the next Chinatown market. It is July 25.