A Parallel Chinese-Language Internet Helps Immigrants Navigate Life in America美國平行中文網為移民導航

弗蘭克·熊

When Grace Hui moved to Los Angeles from China in 2014 and Googled the Chinese characters for “Los Angeles immigrant，” the first result was Chineseinla.com.

The Chino Hills1-based website， a disorganized Yelp2-meets-Craigslist3 hybrid， was a throwback4， and Hui， 29， thought some of the posts were phishing5 scams.

But with more than 680，000 listings， more than 350，000 registered users， 2 million monthly visits and sister sites in 15 cities， Chineseinla.com has become a teeming virtual portal to Chinese life in America. Its one of the only ways that Hui could connect to a country she couldnt understand.

In the San Gabriel Valley and in Chinese enclaves across the nation， a new wave of Chinese immigrants—many of them affluent students with poor English skills and a smartphone habit—are tapping into a parallel system of Chinese-language apps and websites geared toward helping them navigate life in America.

The growth of these websites are a side effect of a stubborn reality： The language and cultural barriers that new immigrants face extend onto the Internet.

As unprecedented numbers of Chinese people arrive in Los Angeles searching for prosperity， they find themselves in an alternate version of the city—a Los Angeles where the best restaurants are in San Gabriel， the most capable doctors are in Monterey Park， and Arcadia is the hottest real estate destination in California.

Chineseinla.com， launched in 2006， is one of the oldest parts of the Chinese-language Internet， according to founder Zach Song. It began as a Wikipedia-style collection of knowledge that Song hoped would help new immigrants combat the feeling of helplessness he and his wife felt when they first came from Shanghai in 2003.

The websites users eventually grew more interested in selling things， so he redesigned the website to function like Craigslist and include business listings and reviews like Yelp. As online advertising became their main source of revenue， he incorporated Chinese-language news posts and discussion forums to draw traffic.

More than half of Los Angeles Countys Chinese population speaks limited English， according to the American Community Survey6， and a larger， temporary population of Chinese students， tourists， and travelers has even fewer English skills.

The language barrier that Chinese immigrants face also prevents American businesses from reaching them. For example， ToGo626.com7 offers delivery from about 400 mostly Chinese restaurants—fewer than 10 of which are listed on American food delivery apps such as Postmates8 and Eat249， said co-founder Mac Xu. The app has been downloaded 20，000 times since it was created and the company processes about 200 orders every day with a staff of about 40 drivers， he says.

One of the biggest shortcomings of the English-language Internet， many say， is how sites evaluate Chinese food.

Dai Ho， a noodle restaurant in Temple City10， has 3.5 stars on review site Yelp， typical for a cash-only Chinese restaurant in the San Gabriel Valley that lacks service， variety or amenities. But the noodles， hand-pulled and made fresh in limited quantities each day， are revelatory， said Amy Duan， the founder of Chihuo， a Chinese food community. Her app lists it as one of the best Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles.

“We always saw five-star rated restaurants that arent very good， and three-star restaurants where the food is fantastic，” Duan said.

At thechihuo.coms offices in El Monte， an illustrated map displays a distorted projection of Los Angeles based on Chinese food preferences. The San Gabriel Valley takes up two-thirds of the map， Torrance11 is featured more prominently than Long Beach， and South and East Los Angeles arent depicted at all.

Duan and a group of Chinese students at USC launched Chihuo seven years ago after their dining clubs social media posts became popular. Their audience， Duan said， is Chinese people who are intensely specific about Chinese food. They want to know if a spicy dish has ma la （numbing heat）， xin la （pungent heat） or suan la （sour heat）， and whether the noodles are hand-pulled or knife-shaved.

“We needed a platform or a place where people could discuss food in Chinese，” Duan said. “We provide a perspective based on Chinese peoples tastes.”

Specific Chinese tastes also spurred the creation of dating website 2RedBeans， said founder Qinghua Zhao.

The site， named for the red bean that symbolizes love in Chinese culture， has more than 690，000 users across the U.S. and in China， and about 70，000 of them are in Los Angeles.

Zhao founded the site in 2011 after years of bad experiences with eHarmony， OkCupid and Match.com.

She speaks perfect English and shes open to dating someone who isnt Chinese， but finding someone who wanted a serious relationship and shared her values was like “finding a needle in a haystack.”

Its not just a language barrier fueling the Chinese-centric sites popularity， Zhao said. Swipe12-style dating apps， such as Tinder and Bumble， are often too forward and casual for Chinese users， she says.

Chinese singles tend to be shy， Zhao said. 2RedBeans caters to that with several nonverbal ways to interact. Users can wink at， favorite or secretly admire other users. If both people admire each other secretly， the app matches you. 2RedBeans also regularly hosts dating events where staffers help Chinese singles socialize.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?■

當格蕾絲·惠在2014年從中國移居到洛杉磯時，在谷歌上用漢字搜索“洛杉磯移民”，搜索結果第一條是洛杉磯華人資訊網。

這家總部位于奇諾崗市的網站頁面雜亂，布局是Yelp和Craigslist的混合體，整個網站比較老套，29歲的惠女士以為有些帖子是釣魚詐騙。

但是洛杉磯華人資訊網擁有68萬多條目、超過35萬名注冊用戶、每月200萬次訪問量，還在15個城市有姊妹網站，已經成為在美華人生活的一個熱鬧非凡的虛擬門戶網站。這是惠能夠融入這個她不了解的國家僅有的幾條途徑之一。

在圣蓋博谷和全美的華人聚居地，新一波中國移民中，很多人是有錢的學生，英語不太好，習慣用智能手機，他們正在使用一系列平行中文應用和網站，這些應用與網站的設計初衷是幫助這些人輕松應對在美國的生活。

新移民面對的語言和文化障礙延伸到了因特網，而這些網站的發展正是這個難以解決的現實問題帶來的意外結果。

數量空前的中國人來到洛杉磯尋求富裕的生活，發現自己好像身處不同版本的洛杉磯：最好的餐館都在圣蓋博，最棒的醫生都在蒙特雷公園市，而阿卡迪亞則是加州最熱門的置地安居之所。

據創始人扎克·宋介紹，洛杉磯華人資訊網創辦于2006年，是美國最早的中文網站之一。該網站最初是維基百科式的知識匯總。宋和他的妻子在2003年從上海第一次來這里時曾感到無助，他希望這個網站可以幫新移民減輕這種無助感。

結果，該網站的用戶對賣東西更感興趣，所以他重新設計了網站，使網站功能類似Craigslist，而又包括像Yelp一樣的企業名錄和點評。當在線廣告成為他們主要的收入來源時，他給網站增設了中文新聞和論壇來吸引流量。

美國社區普查數據顯示，洛杉磯縣超過半數的華人英語水平有限，還有更多暫住的中國學生、游客和旅客，他們英語水平更低。

中國移民面臨的語言障礙也使他們無法享受美國公司提供的服務。比如，ToGo626.com提供約400家餐館（大多是中餐館）的外賣服務。聯合創始人麥克·徐說，這些中餐館只有不到10家被Postmates和Eat24這樣的美國送餐應用程序收錄。他說，自創辦以來，該應用已被下載2萬次，公司約有40個送餐員，每天處理約200份訂單。

很多人認為，英語網站的一大缺點是其評價中餐的方式。

大和是位于天普市的一家面館，在點評網站Yelp上的評分是3.5星——這家館子服務和品種單一，沒什么便利設施，且只收現金，對于圣蓋博谷地區這樣的普通中餐館來說，這種評分很平常。但是，華人美食社區“吃貨小分隊”的創始人艾米·段說，這家的面條是手工拉的，而且為保新鮮每天限量供應，這種模式很有啟發性。她的應用把這家面館列為洛杉磯最好的中餐館之一。

“我們常常發現，一些被評五星的餐館不是很好，而三星餐館里的食物卻棒極了。”段說。

在吃貨小分隊位于艾爾蒙特的辦公室里，有一幅插畫式地圖，展示的是基于食客對中餐的偏好繪制的變形的洛杉磯。圣蓋博谷占據了地圖的三分之二，托倫斯比長灘市更突出，而洛杉磯的南部和東部根本就沒畫出來。

七年前他們的美食俱樂部在社交媒體上的發帖火了之后，段和南加州大學的一群華人學生創辦了吃貨小分隊。段說，他們的受眾是對中餐要求極為明確的華人。他們想知道一道辣菜是麻辣、辛辣還是酸辣，面條是手拉的還是刀削的。

“我們需要一個可以用中文談論食物的平臺或地方。”段說，“我們提供了基于華人口味的評判視角。”

婚戀交友網“兩顆紅豆”創始人趙清華說，滿足華人的特定喜好也是該網站創辦的初衷。

該網站以在中國文化里象征愛情的紅豆命名，在全美國和中國擁有69萬多名用戶，其中約有7萬用戶在洛杉磯。

在eHarmony、OkCupid和Match.com上有過很多年糟糕的體驗后，趙清華于2011年創辦了該網站。

她英語很好，也愿意和非華人約會，但是要找到一個想要認真交往并且和她有共同價值觀的人就像是“大海撈針”。

趙清華說，促使這些以華人為中心的網站盛行的不僅僅是語言障礙。她說，Tinder和Bumble等“翻牌”式交友應用軟件對華人用戶來說常常太冒失、太隨意。

她說，華人單身者往往很靦腆。為迎合這一點，“兩顆紅豆”用幾種非語言方式來互動。用戶可以對其他用戶“眨眼”“喜愛”或“偷偷欣賞”。如果兩個人彼此偷偷欣賞，應用就把兩人配對。兩顆紅豆也經常主辦交友活動，由工作人員幫助華人單身者進行交往。? ? ? ? ? ? ? □

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）

1洛杉磯華人東區的一個新興都市。? 2美國最大的點評網站。? 3美國著名的分類廣告網站。? 4 throwback倒退。? 5 phishing網釣（通過互聯網或電郵騙取他人身份信息、銀行賬號等以盜取金錢）。

6指美國人口普查局每年進行的美國社區普查數據，每年調查350萬社區居民，問題包括居民的居住和生活情況，從不同角度了解美國居民的生活狀況。? 7洛杉磯一家華人餐飲外賣平臺。? 8一家同城快遞和外賣公司，提供食品配送應用程序。? 9美國點評網站Yelp旗下的外賣服務平臺。? 10天普市位于華人最密集的圣蓋博谷地區，距離洛杉磯市區15分鐘左右的車程，城市面積10.37平方公里，是一個中產階層聚居的華人移民小城。

11洛杉磯西南部城市。

12指交友軟件的左滑（Swipe Left）和右滑（Swipe Right）功能。軟件推送異性用戶時，手機屏幕上只呈現一張照片，手指向左滑（Swipe Left）表示不喜歡，該用戶以后都不會再出現;右滑（Swipe Right）表示喜歡。彼此右滑過的，雙方自動配對成為好友，可以聊天。