Jiang Nan, a restaurant that debuted in Flushing in January 2019, has since flourished and expanded across seven additional locations across New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. The chain takes pride in the unique taste of its authentic Chinese cuisine with contemporary influence.
Overseeing the restaurant for the past decade, Manager Hanson Yang expresses his gratitude towards the customers and the meaningful conversations they share. Strong relationships with loyal customers and dedicated staff have fostered a strong sense of community he finds pride in being part of.
Yang attributes the remarkable success of Jiang Nan to the restaurant’s philosophy in which workers meticulously prepare delectable dishes and thoughtfully deliver quality customer service. Yang expresses his firm belief that the restaurant’s enduring popularity lies in its distinctive culinary style and the genuine sincerity of its workers.
Towering skyscrapers, iconic landmarks and busy streets deem New York City the most influential metropolis in America.
Within the city that never sleeps, Chinese immigrants in Flushing, Queens have made immense sacrifices to build and expand their businesses. Though widely unheard, their successes speak incredible volumes for their families and ancestors.
Red mountain noodle house
“I feel like my parents are too hard-working.”
In 2000, Mrs. Gao (left) and her husband (not pictured) came to the United States with nothing other than a shared ambition: “to build a fulfilling life and raise a loving family.”
To make ends meet, they worked in several restaurants outside New York in hopes of achieving a stable foundation for their aspirations. Fifteen years later, they opened Red Mountain Noodle House, a Chinese noodle restaurant that would authentically bring the taste of their homeland, Fuzhou, China, to America.
In an interview with Mrs. Gao, she expressed her absolute devotion to supporting her family and the traditional values of economic stability, marriage, and raising children together—common goals shared among many Chinese immigrants.
Gao’s children contribute to her mother’s vision, helping out at the restaurant after school and over the weekends. In their unwavering support for their parents’ perseverance, 17-year-old Isaac Jiang (right) and his sister represent many immigrant children.
Since July 2017, Isaac has managed front-desk responsibilities, handling customer service, taking orders, and relaying them to the kitchen staff. Reflecting on his parents’ relentless work ethic, Jiang admits, “I feel like my parents are almost too hard-working, in a way.” His extensive gratitude for his parents’ commitment to ensuring a bright future for him and his sister has fueled his ambitions to pursue higher education and “return the favor for [his] family.”
Isaac was one of the most diligent classmates I knew in middle school.
When my friends and I learned about his family’s restaurant, we would occasionally dine in, many of us having parents who came from a similar upbringing. Three years after our graduation, I decided to interview him and his mother. In such a large and busy city, a story like theirs can become seemingly small—yet, it hits closest to home for many.
New Happy Home Furniture
In 1998, Cyndi (pictured second-to-left) and her parents immigrated to the United States in hopes of achieving “the feeling of success where one can own their own home.”
When first arriving in the United States, Wang’s family struggled financially. Originally residing in a modest apartment in Manhattan’s Chinatown, they shared the rent with family friends, aiming to eventually live independently. The larger housing market and similar demographic of Flushing made it an attractive location for the Wang's to prosper and seamlessly adapt to the new environment, as it did for many other Chinese families.
Since opening New Happy Home Furniture, Cyndi has lived more comfortably. The furniture store offers a wide array of items, including office desks, sofas, bed frames, and mattresses. Primarily serving local customers in the past eight years since its opening in 2015, Wang hopes to expand the business beyond nearby residents in the upcoming years.
Chinese immigrants in Flushing have admittedly faced a journey filled with adversity. Preserving their heritage culture while embracing their new home allows them to overcome these struggles, their successes serving as a testament to the resilience of immigrant communities and the vibrancy they bring to the places they call home.
This photo essay is dedicated to my mother, who immigrated from Fuzhou, China at age 20. She's taught me the significance of embracing my roots while appreciating the newfound opportunities America has given her, and therein, given us.
Jiang Nan, a restaurant that debuted in Flushing in January 2019, has since flourished and expanded across seven additional locations across New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. The chain takes pride in the unique taste of its authentic Chinese cuisine with contemporary influence.
Overseeing the restaurant for the past decade, Manager Hanson Yang expresses his gratitude towards the customers and the meaningful conversations they share. Strong relationships with loyal customers and dedicated staff have fostered a strong sense of community he finds pride in being part of.
Yang attributes the remarkable success of Jiang Nan to the restaurant’s philosophy in which workers meticulously prepare delectable dishes and thoughtfully deliver quality customer service. Yang expresses his firm belief that the restaurant’s enduring popularity lies in its distinctive culinary style and the genuine sincerity of its workers.
Towering skyscrapers, iconic landmarks and busy streets deem New York City the most influential metropolis in America.
Within the city that never sleeps, Chinese immigrants in Flushing, Queens have made immense sacrifices to build and expand their businesses. Though widely unheard, their successes speak incredible volumes for their families and ancestors.
Red mountain noodle house
“I feel like my parents are too hard-working.”
In 2000, Mrs. Gao (left) and her husband (not pictured) came to the United States with nothing other than a shared ambition: “to build a fulfilling life and raise a loving family.”
To make ends meet, they worked in several restaurants outside New York in hopes of achieving a stable foundation for their aspirations. Fifteen years later, they opened Red Mountain Noodle House, a Chinese noodle restaurant that would authentically bring the taste of their homeland, Fuzhou, China, to America.
In an interview with Mrs. Gao, she expressed her absolute devotion to supporting her family and the traditional values of economic stability, marriage, and raising children together—common goals shared among many Chinese immigrants.
Gao’s children contribute to her mother’s vision, helping out at the restaurant after school and over the weekends. In their unwavering support for their parents’ perseverance, 17-year-old Isaac Jiang (right) and his sister represent many immigrant children.
Since July 2017, Isaac has managed front-desk responsibilities, handling customer service, taking orders, and relaying them to the kitchen staff. Reflecting on his parents’ relentless work ethic, Jiang admits, “I feel like my parents are almost too hard-working, in a way.” His extensive gratitude for his parents’ commitment to ensuring a bright future for him and his sister has fueled his ambitions to pursue higher education and “return the favor for [his] family.”
Isaac was one of the most diligent classmates I knew in middle school.
When my friends and I learned about his family’s restaurant, we would occasionally dine in, many of us having parents who came from a similar upbringing. Three years after our graduation, I decided to interview him and his mother. In such a large and busy city, a story like theirs can become seemingly small—yet, it hits closest to home for many.
New Happy Home Furniture
In 1998, Cyndi (pictured second-to-left) and her parents immigrated to the United States in hopes of achieving “the feeling of success where one can own their own home.”
When first arriving in the United States, Wang’s family struggled financially. Originally residing in a modest apartment in Manhattan’s Chinatown, they shared the rent with family friends, aiming to eventually live independently. The larger housing market and similar demographic of Flushing made it an attractive location for the Wang's to prosper and seamlessly adapt to the new environment, as it did for many other Chinese families.
Since opening New Happy Home Furniture, Cyndi has lived more comfortably. The furniture store offers a wide array of items, including office desks, sofas, bed frames, and mattresses. Primarily serving local customers in the past eight years since its opening in 2015, Wang hopes to expand the business beyond nearby residents in the upcoming years.
Chinese immigrants in Flushing have admittedly faced a journey filled with adversity. Preserving their heritage culture while embracing their new home allows them to overcome these struggles, their successes serving as a testament to the resilience of immigrant communities and the vibrancy they bring to the places they call home.
This photo essay is dedicated to my mother, who immigrated from Fuzhou, China at age 20. She's taught me the significance of embracing my roots while appreciating the newfound opportunities America has given her, and therein, given us.