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Museum Tour Guides
We are Chloe and Anna, second-generation Chinese Americans who met through volunteer tour guide training at the Museum of Chinese in America in June 2019. The stories we shared at the museum weren’t the ones we had learned in school. From the dark origins of the Chinese Exclusion Act to the challenges that Chinese Americans continue to face in pursuit of the American Dream, we saw how prejudice and stigma often stemmed from a lack of knowledge and understanding.
COVID-19 Pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, history repeated itself. Xenophobia and misinformation decimated tourism in Chinatown and threatened the survival of aging residents and immigrant-owned small businesses. We co-founded Mott Street Girls in March 2020 to make Chinese American history and culture more accessible to the public.
Meaning Behind Our Name
Mott Street Girls aka MSG. We’re named after one of the oldest streets in Chinatown and a flavor enhancer often associated with Chinese food. For years, people associated Chinese food with unpleasant symptoms - headaches, nausea, heart palpitations - known collectively as the "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome (CRS)." CRS is not only scientifically inaccurate but also antiquated and xenophobic. The stigma around MSG is why many still perceive Chinese food as unhealthy and processed. At Mott Street Girls, we seek to reclaim the meaning of MSG and rewrite its narrative.
Chinatown Walking Tours
Every weekend, we host the “Relive Life Under the Chinese Exclusion Act” tour in Manhattan's Chinatown. As tour guides, education serves as our means to empower and enact change. By telling meaningful stories that bring Chinatown’s past and present to life, we help locals and tourists draw deeper connections to its culture and people. Amid the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, finding the commonalities between our diverse experiences is how we can close the cultural gap and build empathy.
Giving Back
By hosting Chinatown walking tours, creating educational social media content, and partnering with community organizations, we strive to preserve Chinatown’s rich cultural heritage, bring business to the neighborhood, and share the stories of our community. We have featured the stories of over 60 Chinatown small businesses and raised over $20,000 for our community.
Thank You
We are a minority and women-owned business. Our walking tours have been featured on The Today Show, NBC New York, Fodor's Travel, Infatuation, Patch, Bon Appétit, World Journal, NY1, PIX11, Quickbooks, Culture Trip, The Hoboken Girl, and Currents News. You can follow us on Instagram to stay updated on our work in the community!