ABSTRACT
China City was a block-size district in downtown Los Angeles, built in 1938 and destroyed by fire in 1948. This orientalist tourist simulacrum was neither Chinese nor a city. But what kind of simulacrum was it and what was it simulating? And in what way was it touristic? To answer these questions, this chapter starts with a brief presentation of the district, and then examines the relationship between China City, the Chinese districts of international exhibitions and American Chinatowns. The text analyses more specifically the links between China City and the film industry, and the role of rickshaws in this simulacrum. The author elaborates on the positive role China City was able to play for the Chinese-American community and concludes on Chinese simulacra after China City.
