Chinatown has long become a symbol of Chinese immigrants in Asia, Europe, and America. In Indonesia, Chinese settlements, or “pecinan”, grew in diverse ways throughout different cities. It is difficult to identify the “real pecinan” with Chinese architectural styles in current development. The area was altered because of government policies, socioeconomic development, and spatial politics, all while Chinese people have interacted with local environments and their people. Three cities in Java—Jakarta, Bogor, and Bandung—provide examples of various “pecinan”. Findings in three cities indicate that urban policies have had impacts on Chinese ethnic groups; in reverse, the Chinese themselves can influence urban and socioeconomic development. The municipal government of Jakarta recontextualized Glodok's Chinatown by fusing the area’s historical significance as an old city with aspirations for national tourism and urban development. While Bogor city recently gained its Chinese face during Bima Arya’s tenure as mayor, the labeling of a specific area as “Chinatown” in a dispersed pecinan in Bandung is related to elements of religions, localities, and social tolerance and illustrates a mix of identity, symbolism, and socio-economic activities. These ongoing interactions have involved Chinese ethnic minorities in the city’s growth or even contributed to reconstruct the city’s identity. This article applies urban sociology, anthropology, and socio-legal perspectives, summarizing on the understanding on how Chinatown today as part of strategies to manage social diversity and global urban development. Taking cases in three cities in Indonesia, the resulting images of Chinatown may therefore vary, reflecting the interplay between ethnicity and local and national politics in urban development. Nevertheless, a paradox may occur as the constructions of Chinatown today possibly re-enact social segregation by ethnic identity, contrary to global inclusive urban development.