Has anyone ever been to Chinatown NYC

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Were going to take a trip to NYC ina couple weeks and the one thing i would really like to do is visist Chinatown, i love different cultures and the best way to experience the chinese culture in america would be to naturally go to chinatown. ive done some research on it and ive had people ytelll me that its justa big dirty stinky fleamarket where people try to sell you knock off rollexes and purses. But i was wondering for those of you who have been there if there is any actual chinese culture and chinese shops there, I know the food there is traditional, and im lookink forward to that !The one thing i would really like no buy thrre is a traditional chinese hat as my souvenier, you know the one that looks like an upside down bowl, i always thought those things looked so cool and i always wanted one as a little kid, also some jade objects would be really nice as well since jade is something thats very special to the chinese culture, anything really that is truly chinese, and i was wondering if there is anything like that in chinatown and not just fleamarket stuff, and yes i know, the place smells lol, ive heard a lot of complaints on the smell lol, but id be willing to put up with it for the experience of another culture.

Yes, I live a couple of blocks from there. Its nice, but smelly so be prepared. There is GREAT food though, best dumpling places ever. I've never been to China, but this seems quite close. Many of the people do not speak English at all, and all the signs etc are in Chinese. =)

But really. Smelly. Steer clear of Broome between Eldridge and Allen. Its the smelliest street I have ever encountered. Any questions feel free to ask.

If its anything like the one in San Francisco, then I'd have to also agree that it will probably be VERY smelly and dirty. However, some of the best food EVER comes from these sort of places. Just try not to think of how the food was prepared, in what conditions, and what sound the meat you're eating once made