New York ? The Year of the Rooster begins Feb. 9, and the Lunar New Year will be observed all over Chinatown during the first two weeks of February. Firecracker demonstrations, lion dancers, a parade and a flower market are among the festivities planned to mark the holiday. Lanterns are strung throughout the streets, and the Chinese characters for good fortune and prosperity are posted on many buildings.

But you don’t have to be here for New Year’s to experience Chinatown. The neighborhood’s hustle and bustle, exotic markets and authentic, inexpensive food can be sampled any time of year. Just take the subway to Canal Street and start walking. Head in any direction for some of the city’s best shops and restaurants, as well as a close look at a living, breathing part of New York’s long history of ethnic migration and cultural transformation.

You’ll quickly find yourself in the midst of a typical Chinatown scene — throngs of people cutting every which way; vendors at sidewalk tables and tiny stalls, selling everything from Gucci purses (ersatz or otherwise) to tofu cakes and fruit you didn’t even know existed; and enough traffic to make you think you were in a parking lot.

The pace of the neighborhood is so frenetic that it can sometimes be hard to flag down busy passers-by for directions, so pick up a map at the Chinatown Visitors Kiosk at the intersection of Canal, Walker and Baxter streets. Along with other parts of downtown Manhattan, Chinatown experienced an economic downturn after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center from which it has not fully recovered.

The kiosk and an informative Web site that lists New Year’s events and other attractions — at www.explorechinatown.com — are part of an effort by city officials to make the area more accessible to out-of-towners.

Merchandise melting pot

If you’re looking for an elegant gift (or a rest from the chaos on the street), a good place to stop is Kam Man Food Products at 200 Canal St., near Mott Street. The store is primarily a supermarket, so don’t let the hundreds of jars filled with things you’ve never seen before put you off. Make your way downstairs and you’ll find a cornucopia of beautiful and wonderfully inexpensive Asian-style plates, cups, teapots, cookware and other goodies. For even more gift items, go to the Mall of the Great Wall at Broadway and Canal.

Stroll farther down Canal Street to Mott Street, the heart of one of the nation’s largest Chinese enclaves. Both sides of the street are lined with stores overflowing with all types of merchandise — from postcards and bamboo plants to toys and electronics to Buddhas, jewelry and silk jackets.

Chinatown is a mini-Asian melting pot, attracting immigrants from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and other countries. Keep an eye out for the large Taiwanese flag flying at 62 Mott St. over the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assn., an umbrella group for the family and village associations that dot the neighborhood. Many of the area’s political decisions are made behind the association’s doors, and its president is sometimes referred to as the mayor of Chinatown.

Visitors to New York expect a lot of activity in all corners of the Big Apple, but to see some real hustle and bustle take the subway to Chinatown. Pedestrians cross busy Canal Street in the heart of the neighborhood.

Cuisine choices

If you’re thirsty, stop at any of the tea cafes that line Mott Street. They specialize in bubble tea — milky iced tea with balls of tapioca at the bottom. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but it’s worth trying.

When you reach Bayard Street, hang a left and you’ll find the legendary Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Yes, they have flavors you can get anywhere else, like rocky road and pistachio, but not every ice cream parlor carries lichee, almond cookie or mango.

But before you have ice cream, how about a main course — or two or three? Chinatown is renowned for its restaurants, and with so many to choose from, your biggest problem will be settling on any one place. Here are a couple of good rules:

Po Lin Lei, left, and her husband, David Lei, of Washington D.C., shop in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York, where stores overflow with unique merchandise.

• Don’t let looks fool you. The food might be fantastic even if the lighting is dingy.
• If the locals are eating there, odds are it’s good.
• Be adventurous in what you order. You might be pleasantly surprised.
• Go with two or three others. Entrees are usually served family-style in the expectation that everyone in your party will share.

Chinatown is a particularly good place to sample traditional dishes that may not be available at your hometown Chinese restaurant. For Peking Duck, try the Peking Duck House at 28 Mott St., a longtime neighborhood establishment.

For dumplings, make your way east to the aptly named Dumpling House at 118 Eldridge St. Although it’s a bit of a walk from the heart of Chinatown, this place is worth the trip. At five exquisitely fried or steamed dumplings for a dollar, you can’t go wrong.

Then there’s dim sum. Served roughly between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., primarily on weekends, dim sum attracts neighborhood families, curious tourists and sophisticated gourmands alike. Instead of ordering off a menu, diners simply point to small sampler-sized plates of various dishes that are wheeled around on carts inside the restaurant.

But you don’t need a tour guide to glimpse people doing tai chi in Columbus Park, on Bayard Street, or to check out the Church of the Transfiguration on Mott Street — where Catholic services are held in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. Just keep your eyes open, and explore the neighborhood for yourself.