Chinatown, Rockville

Rockville Chinatown
Ethnoburb
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Maryland
County	Montgomery County
City	Rockville, Maryland
ZIP Code	20850
Area code(s)	301

The U.S. city of Rockville, Maryland (Chinese: 罗克维尔; pinyin: luō kè wéi ěr) is home to a Chinatown that serves the Washington metropolitan area. Although it is considered a satellite of the Washington D.C. Chinatown, Phuong Ly wrote in the Washington Post that the Montgomery County Chinatown is the "real Chinatown." According to the article, Rockville's Chinatown spans along Rockville Pike from Halpine Road to East Jefferson Street, along E Jefferson Street and then along North Washington Street. Close to 30,000 people of Chinese descent live in Montgomery County, most of whom were drawn to the "good schools" and is home to at least three Chinese newspapers. Cynthia Hacinli states that "fans of authentic Chinese food" come here instead of the downtown Chinatown on H Street.

History

See also: Chinatown, Washington, D.C.

After the riots of 1968, many Chinese sought refuge in the suburbs of Maryland and Virginia, thus starting the decline of the H Street Chinatown. According to another article, the largest concentrations of Chinese in the Washington DC area are in Montgomery County, Maryland at around 3%, while concentrations in Fairfax and Arlington Counties in Virginia are around 2 to 3%, which dwarfs that of Washington DC's Chinatown around 3%. As the shift continues, the role that the urban Chinatown once played is now replaced by the "satellites" in the suburbs. It turns out that the "best food is no longer in Chinatown" and "... the closest Chinese grocery retailer is in Falls Church, Virginia."

Events

The Chinese New Year parade is held in the Rockville Town Square.

Transportation

The Red Line of the Washington Metro rail system services the Rockville station and Twinbrook station. The Rockville station is located at Hungerford Drive near Park Road. The Twinbrook station is located near Rockville Pike and Halpine Road with entrances on Chapman Avenue.

At the same location as the Rockville metro station is Rockville Station on the Brunswick Line of the MARC commuter rail system, which runs to and from Washington, DC.

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides intercity train service to Rockville. The city's passenger rail station is located at 251 Hungerford Drive (at Park Road), ZIP code 20850; this is also the location of the MARC station described above.

• Amtrak Train 29, the westbound Capitol Limited, is scheduled to depart Rockville daily with service to Pittsburgh and overnight service to Chicago.
• Amtrak Train 30, the eastbound Capitol Limited, is scheduled to depart Rockville at 12:30 pm on its return to Washington Union Station.