This article is part of our series on Chinese American History. Sign up for our newsletter to receive family-friendly activity, recipe and craft ideas throughout the year!
I launched Chinese American Family in October 2016 because I couldn’t find parenting resources for multicultural families like mine when I searched online. I decided then to create a central digital destination for the diverse community of Chinese American families here in the United States. This labor of love continues today.
Fast forward to the present and the Chinese American online world remains fragmented and underserved. Chinese American news and culture is sprinkled across the mainstream media, featured in single posts on personal blogs and commingled with broader Asian American topics. It remains challenging for author and audience to find one another.
However, with a bit of work, I’ve managed to assemble a collection of online voices which speak to a distinct Chinese American experience that inspires me today. Think of these writers as the virtual news, sports, food, arts and opinions staff of a Chinese American newspaper that I wish I could will into existence.
Until that day comes, I’m excited to share with you below a list of 25 influential online voices that I follow every day, primarily through my Twitter feed, but also through frequent visits to their web sites and social media accounts. It’s a diverse group that celebrates the community’s many contributions to American life and reflects the fact that there are many different ways to be Chinese American.
News & Commentary
AsAm News: This excellent news site covers the Asian American, South Asian and Pacific Islander communities. There’s a dedicated section for Chinese American headlines. Twitter | Web Site
Angry Asian Man: Commentary and analysis focusing on the representation of Asian Americans in mass media and popular culture. The link below filters on articles about Chinese Americans. Twitter | Web Site
Frank Wu: I discovered Frank when he spoke at the 2017 This Land Is Our Land conference. I think he offers sharp analysis about Chinese Americans and the subject of race in America. Twitter | Web Site
Dat Winning: Every newspaper needs a sports section and Dat Winning fits the bill as “Sports from an Asian American perspective or something like that.” The link below filters for all things Linsanity. Twitter | Web Site
History & Culture
Chinese Historical Society of America: Deeply tied into San Francisco, the first Chinese American city, with historical notes, speakers and announcements of upcoming exhibits. Twitter | Web Site
Museum of Chinese in America: Closely associated with New York Chinatown, with lots of events, speakers and cultural notes from an East Coast perspective. Twitter | Web Site
Him Mark Lai Digital Archive: Like getting lost in the stacks of your favorite library. Contains over 200 works from the original “dean of Chinese American studies,” Him Mark Lai. Get lost in an article during your coffee break. Web Site
Chinese American Historian: Nuggets from retired professor turned historian John Jung. It’s both enlightening and bothersome to see how frequently you’ll react by saying, “I didn’t know that!” Twitter | Web Site
Voices From Chinatown
Chinatown Report: Regular dispatches from the world’s Chinatowns, both in the United States and elsewhere abroad. Twitter | Web Site
Boston Chinatown Blog: On the ground observations about community life, neighborhood gentrification and family activities from Boston’s Chinatown. Twitter | Web Site
Leland Wong: An icon in San Francisco Chinatown, Leland Wong shares life as a prolific photographer, painter and dumpling maker. Twitter | Web Site
Food
626 Foodettes: A collaboration between Kristie Hang and Clarissa Wei, 626 Foodettes fills your feed with everything related to Chinese food in the San Gabriel Valley. Twitter | Web Site
Omnivore’s Cookbook: A Chinese cook in an American kitchen, sharing a virtual cookbook’s worth of modern Chinese cooking from Austin, TX. Twitter | Web Site
The Mala Project: Founded by Taylor Holliday, this marketplace of ideas, recipes and ingredients focuses on all things related to cooking Sichuan food in America. Twitter | Web Site
The Woks of Life: A delicious blog created by a family of travelers, cooks and adventurers living between Beijing and the U.S. Twitter | Web Site
David Chan: David Chan is a third-generation Chinese American who has eaten at more than 7,000 Chinese restaurants. His insights about Chinese food tell as much about the Chinese American story. Web Site | Personal Blog
Arts & Style
Hyphen Magazine: A news and culture magazine that illuminates the cultural and political trends shaping the fastest-growing ethnic population in the country. Twitter | Web Site
AZN Modern: Though based in Toronto and Costa Rica, AZN Modern writes about the same contemporary style, entertainment and culture subjects that we love here in the United States. Twitter | Web Site
Banana Magazine: Coopting the term sometimes applied to American Born Chinese, Banana Magazine navigates blurred Eastern and Western boundaries to create a voice for contemporary Asian culture. Twitter | Web Site
Parenting & Family
Hapa Mama: Grace Hwang Lynch, a Taiwanese American living in the Bay Area, explores parenting, language and identity issues for parents of mixed race Chinese Americans. Twitter | Web Site
Bicultural Mama: Maria Wen Adcock, a Chinese American mom in a bicultural family living in Long Island, writes about “creating the best of both worlds” through culture, food and travel. Twitter | Web Site
Betty Ming Liu: The self-described “happy, recovering daughter of Chinese immigrants,” Betty Ming Liu shares her journey as a writer, single mom, cat lady, and divorced empty nester. Twitter | Web Site
Ripped Jeans and Bifocals: One of my favorite parenting blogs from the adoptive community, Jill Robbins writes about bringing Chinese culture into her family’s life in Texas with her two sons. Twitter | Web Site
U.S.-China Relations
Committee of 100: News from the Committee of 100, a membership organization of Chinese Americans dedicated to the spirit of excellence and achievement in America. Twitter | Web Site
Sup China: China in two minutes a day. Politics, current affairs, technology, business and culture headlines. Twitter | Web Site
Your turn! What Chinese American perspectives do you follow online? Who else would you add to this list? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!
John Rohsenow
When in Chicago please visit the Chinese American Museum of Chicago in Chicago’s Chinatown. Please see our website:
http://www.ccamuseum.org
Wes Radez
I’d love to, John, and thanks for your work! To everyone else visiting, you can also follow the Chinese American Museum of Chicago through their excellent Twitter feed at @ccamuseum. ~Wes
Julie Ap
I second that! We love the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago! It made our list of “Chicago’s 5 Best Museums You’ve Never Heard Of,” and we look forward to our next visit.
Wes Radez
Terrific! Thanks for visiting and contributing your perspective, Julie! ~Wes
Bicultural Mama
Thank you for including my blog on this list. I love your work so much, your site is so inspiring!
Wes Radez
Always nice to see you on the site! Thank you for the kind words and keep up the great work! ~Wes
John Jung
I had not heard about your site, which is outstanding for its breadth of topics, and somehow stumbled on it, perhaps via twitter. I was surprised to see my site was included on the bloggers page along with such impressive other sites…thanks for the plug! Best wishes for great success of your site.
Wes Radez
Thanks, John. That’s really kind of you! Big fans of your work from afar. Keep up the great work! ~Wes
Maxine
You might be interested in Grace Young, a San Franciscan now living in the eastern seaboard, who wrote about Chinese cooking (Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen) and about the wok (Breath of the Wok). I don’t know what her website is by memory, but I am sure that you can find it yourself.
Wes Radez
Thanks for your suggestion, Maxine! We share your enthusiasm for Grace’s work. ~Wes
celes
Great job wes! Hope you enjoy a happy family life in california! greetings from Argentina!
Wes Radez
Thanks for checking in! ~Wes