🏮 Little China
“Crowded. Noisy. Home. And don’t touch the Tong’s business.”
Little China is the heart of Watson’s Asian community—a dense, vertical neighborhood where life happens on the street, in the market stalls, and in the neon-lit chaos. The Tyger Claws run the streets, but the real power might be the Weng Fang Tong. A mixture of classes, with condominiums living next door to brothels and illegal gambling dens—the kind of place that attracts bored corpos looking for thrills alongside the dangerous, the desperate, and the poor.
📋 Overview
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Zone Type | Rebuilding Urban Center |
| Threat Rating | Moderate |
| Parent District | Watson District |
| Dominant Powers | Tyger Claws, Weng Fang Tong |
| Character | Dense, vertical, neon-lit, Chinese cultural enclave |
| Notable Feature | First megabuildings in Night City were built here |
📜 History
The Original Little China
There was an older Little China—located in what is now Vista del Rey in Heywood. That original Chinatown was designed as “an old-style Chinatown with many fine restaurants and curio shops.” When the 4th Corporate War devastated that area, the residents gave up on their homes and moved north to Watson.
Night City Co-Prosperity Sphere
The Japanese megacorp conglomerate called the Night City Co-Prosperity Sphere wanted Little China to be the planned heart of Watson. They poured money into the area:
- The first megabuildings in Night City went up here
- They weren’t the first planned (hence the high building numbers like H10-H15)
- Sphere money jumped the construction queue
- Chinese immigrants followed, transforming the area
Today
Unlike Old Japantown (which was devastated), Little China held on through the War. The community is tough, stubborn, and well-organized. They protect their own.
🏙️ The District
Vertical Living
Little China is dense. Space is precious:
- Residential megabuildings tower over narrow streets
- Balconies and walkways connect buildings
- Markets occupy every available ground-level space
- Life happens in layers—street level, walkway level, rooftop
A Mixture of Classes
“Condominiums living next door to brothels and illegal gambling dens.”
- Corporate workers live here to save eddies
- Street-level economy thrives beneath them
- Neon lights, food, shops attract tourists and thrill-seekers
- Dangerous, desperate, and poor share space with the middle class
👥 Who Runs Things
Tyger Claws
The Claws control the streets:
- Visible enforcers, protection rackets
- Run the braindance parlors and clubs
- Handle street-level disputes
- Young, aggressive, cybered-up
- Own the Deravaja Dojo—martial arts studio that trains gang members
The Weng Fang Tong
The traditional Chinese criminal organization, headed by David Ling Po:
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Leader | David Ling Po (Stanford graduate, “model businessman”) |
| Base | Top floor of his export business |
| Scope | Largest, most powerful Chinese criminal org in western NUSA |
| Activities | Gambling, loan sharking, prostitution across Night City |
| Enforcers | Almost all boostergangs in Little China are on his payroll |
| Surveillance | His hirelings have telescopic video micro-cameras replacing one eye; info sent via scrambled signal to Ling Po |
The Balance of Power
The Tyger Claws think they run Little China. The Tong lets them think that. The reality is more complicated—and smarter operators know to respect both.
Local Community
Don’t underestimate the residents:
- Neighborhood watches
- Informal militias
- Shopkeepers who’ve survived worse
- They’ll call the Claws if there’s trouble—or handle it themselves
📍 Notable Locations
The Afterlife
Night City’s most famous and infamous edgerunner bar. A legend.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Owner | Rogue Amendiares, Queen of the Fixers |
| Entry | No one allowed in until they’ve proved themselves worthy |
| Tradition | Drinks named after edgerunners who went out in a blaze of glory |
| Function | Where jobs get posted, crews get formed, legends begin |
The Forlorn Hope
A small, exclusive Solo bar in the Combat Zone border area (technically between Little China and Old Japantown).
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Clientele | Veterans—SouthAm War, 4th Corporate War |
| Character | Home away from home for Night City’s most dangerous retired Solos |
| Access | You either earn it or you don’t enter |
Night City Medical Center
A hospital complex with its own public transit station. Owned and operated by Trauma Team International.
Urmland Street
A shopping district for the discerning customer:
- Preem clothing
- Flashy cyberware
- Tarot readings
- If you have eddies, you can look like you belong uptown
Riot
A nightclub notable for attracting big-name entertainers:
- Lizzy Wizzy has performed here
- The Cartesian Duelists
- Other celebrity acts seeking street cred
Deravaja Dojo
A martial arts studio owned by the Tyger Claws:
- In theory, anyone can take lessons
- In practice, few non-gang-members attend
- Where Tyger Claws learn to fight
Tom’s Diner
Primary location of a chain throughout Night City:
- Retro, pre-Collapse vibe
- Classic American diner aesthetic
- Safe, neutral meeting place
Cherry Street Markets
Open-air markets selling everything:
- Fresh food (relatively)
- Knockoff electronics
- Bootleg braindance
- Traditional medicine
- If it exists, someone’s selling it here
Ripperdoc Row
An unofficial cluster of independent ripperdocs:
- Cheaper than corporate clinics
- Quality varies wildly
- Some are former trauma surgeons; others are butchers
- Cash only, no questions asked
Temple District
Several Chinese temples survived the War:
- Buddhist and Taoist shrines
- Community gathering places
- Some are Tong fronts
- Others are legitimate sanctuaries
🌆 Atmosphere
Day
- Market chaos: vendors shouting, customers haggling
- Cooking smells everywhere
- Crowds on narrow streets
- Laundry hanging from balconies
- Children playing between stalls
- Corporate workers hurrying to the NCART
Night
- Neon transforms everything
- Night markets open up
- Gambling dens fill up
- Tyger Claws more visible
- Bored corpos slumming for thrills
- Safer than Combat Zones, but stay alert
😄 What You See
🎲 GM Resources
Why Come Here?
| Purpose | Hook |
|---|---|
| The Afterlife | Need a job, need a fixer, need to prove yourself |
| The Forlorn Hope | Hiring veteran Solos, gathering war stories |
| Shopping | Night markets have everything—for a price |
| Ripperdoc | Need cheap chrome, no questions |
| Tyger Claw business | Territory negotiation, debt collection |
| Tong contact | Traditional crime connections |
| Hiding | Blend into the crowds |
| Information | Gossip flows through the markets |
District Rules
- Everyone’s connected — Information travels fast
- Don’t start trouble — The community will respond
- Pay your respects — Acknowledge the powers that be
- Cash is king — Cards and cred leave traces
- The Tong sees everything — Those eye-cams report to Ling Po
Notable NPCs
| NPC | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rogue | Fixer | Queen of the Fixers, runs The Afterlife |
| David Ling Po | Tong Boss | Stanford grad, exports, the real power in Little China |
🔗 Related Topics
- Watson District — Parent district
- Tyger Claws — Street-level control
- David Ling Po — Tong boss
- Kabuki — Neighboring sub-district
- Japantown — The other Asian cultural district
- Old Japantown — The Combat Zone, where refugees fled from
- The Afterlife — The legendary bar
(Source: Cyberpunk RED Core Rulebook, pp. 296-297, 303, 312; Cyberpunk Edgerunners Mission Kit)