2 Best Sights in Chinatown, New York City

Gilded lions guard the entrance of this bright, beautiful Buddhist temple, on a busy corner at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge Arch on the Bowery. Inside are a 16-foot-tall Buddha seated on a lotus flower (allegedly the largest Buddha in the city), incense-burning urns, hand-painted prints, and a second-floor gift shop full of interesting items.

Founded in 1980, MOCA is dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of the Chinese people and their descendants in the United States. The current building, near the boundary between Chinatown and Little Italy (many would say it's in Little Italy), was designed by Maya Lin, architect of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. MOCA's core exhibition on Chinese American history, With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America, includes artworks, personal and domestic artifacts, historical documentation, and films. Chinese laundry tools, a traditional general store, and antique business signs are some of the unique objects on display. Rotating exhibitions are held in another gallery. MOCA also sponsors workshops, neighborhood walking tours, lectures, and family events.