Wok On

Thirteen lucky secrets for Chinese New Year

oston’s ties to China go back longer than those of any other city, to the end of the Revolutionary War, when Boston merchants like the Cabots, Peabodys, Derbys, and Forbeses (yes, the John Forbes Kerry Forbeses), sailing fast, Boston-built clipper ships, made vast fortunes from the China trade. Their wealth paid for unparalleled Asian art collections in the Museum of Fine Arts, the Sackler Museum at Harvard, and the Peabody Essex Museum. Even today, Massachusetts has the largest Chinese-born population after California and New York, Boston and Cambridge have the fourth-most Chinese-born residents among metropolitan areas, and Massachusetts has the fourth-highest number of Chinese students. Join them in celebrating the Chinese New Year with these delicious and educational secrets:

Dumplings and other Taiwanese-style Chinese fare

A dragon-boat club on the Charles

A great, cheap Chinese lunch in Harvard Square

A guided walk through Chinatown

Authentic Chinese—but not in Chinatown

A mansion built by the China trade

An exotic Chinese preparation for eggs you’ve never tried, in a Chinese patisserie

A hidden, home-style Taiwanese standout

A great collection of Chinese film on DVD

Dim sum at a diner like you’ve never seen before

Asian cuisine for vegetarians that’s actually good

Where to find Chinese wolfberry and dragon-eye fruit tea