Shop NYC Top

I was born in China and spent my childhood and school years in a big metro area in China. When I first visited NYC in early 2010s, I was struck by how familiar yet unfamiliar Chinatown seemed to me. It looked like China, but in 1980s or early 1990s. Shop fronts, what they sell in store, restaurants, little clinics, etc. resemble an antique look and feel, and make those shiny boba tea shops quite out of place.

Meanwhile China itself, or the greater Chinese cultural sphere (HK, TW, SG etc) has changed dramatically in the last decades with maybe some pockets of old street scattered. Why does Chinatown still look very old and “outdated”? Does this time capsule feel also apply to other cultural enclaves (e.g. Greek or Polish neighborhoods?) If so, why those enclaves stay in the past time??