Through the Generations: Victoria Lee, Co-founder of Welcome to Chinatown

Chinatown can hold decades of history. Our 'Through the Generations' story series explores deep familial ties that keep the neighborhood going. Victoria Lee is the co-founder of Welcome to Chinatown.

When did your family come to Chinatown / New York City?

My mom and dad immigrated, along with my grandparents, in the late 60s.

What was your experience growing up in Chinatown?

My family lived in Brooklyn but I've always associated Chinatown as the home to my formative years as an Asian American woman. Every Sunday, my parents, sister, and I would drive out to Chinatown for our weekly errands. We'd buy fresh white bread from Fay Da, duck noodles from Great New York Noodletown, and rent TVB VHS tapes. Our day would always culminate with Sunday dinners at my late grandmother's Eldridge Street apartment. We'd sit around a table with my multigenerational family, eating hearty bowls of rice from Longevity bowls while baseball played in the background.

Why is it important to you that you remember your family history?

My family immigrated to the U.S. with the dream of establishing themselves for future generations. I have been privileged to benefit from their grit, hard work, and struggle. I can't take that for granted and need to carry my family history with me to remain grounded.

What is something that you hold on to that reminds you of Chinatown on a daily basis?

I have a tattoo of rice in a Longevity bowl with a pair of chopsticks and "135" underneath. It represents the Sunday dinners at my late grandmother's apartment in Chinatown. I grew up shunning eating rice from a bowl because I was teased as a child for pushing rice into my face with chopsticks. Now, I've come to fully embrace it, even positioning the tattoo where you bend your elbows to raise your chopsticks and sik faan. I think about those Sunday dinners with Por often.