See a storefront Taoist temple. (Rahav Segev / Photopass.com)
*FOR GOOD-LUCK SEEKERS
Museum of the Chinese in America, walking tour
Starting point: Lobby of MoCA (215 Centre St.)
As MOCA tour guide Eric Zhang leads a walking tour along Pell Street, he points to crowded barbershops. “It is bad luck to cut your hair on the New Year,” explains Zhang. “It’s like cutting away your good luck.”
Because Chinese New Year is all about securing good luck in the coming year, people are stocking up on lucky flowers, bamboo plants and specialty foods such as dates and cabbage, all considered to bring good fortune and be consumed as part of Chinese New Year’s Day celebration. As the tour winds along Doyers Street, the Bowery and Mott Street, Zhang points out important symbols for the new year. Red lanterns, dragon and lion heads, he says, all ward off bad luck.
HOW TO CELEBRATE CHINESE NEW YEAR IN NEW YORK
Highlights: Behind every superstition is a story. Firecrackers, Zhang says, are popular because the sound of thunder is fabled to scare off monsters.
Don’t miss: At the corner of the Bowery and Pell, the statue-filled storefront is a Taoist temple full of people praying for a prosperous year.
Details: Today, tomorrow and Jan. 28, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; $20 for a 1½ hour tour; mocanyc.org.
*FOR HUNGRY DRAGONS
Foods of NY Tours — Chinatown Food and Culture Walking Tour
Starting point: Dim Sum Go Go, 5 East Broadway
Forget the hole-in-the-wall joints of Chinatown. Go for something higher quality on this walking/eating tour, which starts at Dim Sum Go Go for duck, chicken and shrimp dumplings. “I had one woman who wanted to go on the tour with her son,” says guide Bert James. “She said, ‘He loves Chinese food — but is it appropriate to bring a boy on this?’ ” (It’s not that kind of go-go spot, lady.) James spends the morning explaining the difference between Mott Street restaurants Wo Hop and Hop Kee (there is none) and readies for two more sit-down meals. There’s an interlude at an herbalist where dried abalone is sold for as much as $1,880 per pound — as well as more reasonably priced tea sets. Our guide waves goodbye at Ten Ren Tea (75 Mott St.), sending the group off with chocolate tiger rolls from Hon Café across the street.
Highlights: Food-wise, you can’t do much better than Peking Duck House. A chef expertly hacks up the Long Island bred duck that he dabs in hoisin sauce, sprinkles with scallions and wraps up in a pancake.
Don’t miss: The tour of the tunnels underneath Doyers Street, as well as a shop run by a Miss Ting, who offers potions for whatever ails you (and they’re apparently cheaper than a scrip from your doctor).
Details: Mondays at noon, Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.; $65 for a three-hour tour; foodsofny.com; 917-408-9539.
*FOR CLUE FANS
Chinatown, 1909, an App Tour from Rama
Starting point: The Bowery and Worth Street
The Chinatown of 1909 was a sinister and mysterious place, home to murder, gangs, gambling rings and opium dens. This smartphone time-machine app puts you right at the scenes of several notorious crimes, such as the 1909 murder mystery of Elsie Sigel, who was involved in a taboo love triangle. Tour author Michael Carroll re-creates the mystery, bringing turn-of-the-century Chinatown to life.
Highlights: Along the way, you can swipe through various historical images from the early 1900s, and zoom in for close-up views of photos taken from the exact viewpoint of where you are today.
Don’t miss: Doyers Street was known as “The Bloody Angle,” because the twisted street was once the epicenter of “tong” gang wars. You’ll hear the story of the gory massacre of 1905 at the Chinese Opera House once located at 5-7 Doyers St. Today, Doyers is home to tea houses, noodle shops and a trendy speakeasy bar.
Details: Free 20-minute tour in the App Store.
*FOR HISTORY HOUNDS
Chinatown, Year of the Dragon, Big Onion Walking tour
Starting point: Southeast corner of Grand and Chrystie streets, at Roosevelt Park
“The new year’s celebration isn’t something meant for tourists,” says Big Onion’s Seth Kamil. “It’s a very special celebration for the community.” History nuts will love the stop at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, started in 1883 and still standing on Mott Street.
Highlights: Watch for holiday-decorated storefronts and markets. “We purposely do this tour before the actual new year,” says Kamil. “Most of the stores closes up during the celebration, and the streets are impassable.”
Don’t miss: The Church of the Transfiguration is home to the largest Chinese Catholic population in the United States. Peek inside, and you might see a diverse Mass.
Details: Today, 1 p.m.; $18 for a two-hour tour; bigonion.com.