GTA Chinatown Wars Guide: Story, Characters, Missions and Cheats

The GTA Chinatown Wars guide below covers the 2009 handheld action-adventure from Rockstar Leeds, made with Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, iOS and Android. It is set in Liberty City and follows a rich kid caught in a Triad succession war, and this hub points you to every character, mission list, collectible hunt and cheat page we have for it.

Key facts

  • Release: March 17, 2009 on Nintendo DS; the PSP port followed on October 20, 2009 with enhanced visuals and extra missions, then iOS in 2010 and Android in 2014.
  • Developer: Rockstar Leeds with Rockstar North; publisher: Rockstar Games.
  • View: an isometric, rotatable aerial camera with cel-shaded 3D graphics and comic-book cutscenes.
  • Map: Algonquin, Bohan, Broker and Dukes; the State of Alderney is absent.
  • Signature feature: the PDA, which handles mission emails, the Ammu-Nation shop and drug trading.

Story and setting

The game takes place in Liberty City in 2009, a year after GTA 4. Huang Lee, the spoiled son of a murdered Triad boss, flies in to deliver an ancient sword to his uncle. He is robbed and left for dead, and he then works for the city’s Asian crime figures to find out who took the sword and why his father died. This GTA Chinatown Wars guide keeps the plot spoiler-free beyond that premise. For the full list of characters, jump to the lexicon.

Main characters

The cast revolves around the Triad families. Huang Lee is the protagonist, Wu Lee (Uncle Kenny) is his relative, and Hsin Jaoming is the aging boss whose successor everyone is chasing. Chan Jaoming and Zhou Ming are the rivals for that seat. Wade Heston, a crooked undercover cop, works alongside Huang, and Lester Leroc is an investigator posing as a biker. Browse every name in the characters section.

Missions and walkthroughs

Story missions arrive as emails on your PDA, and the side activities hide most of the replay value. Start with the 100% completion guide and checklist, then work through the collectibles:

For challenges and events, use these pages:

Every story mission is listed in the GTA Chinatown Wars missions category.

Vehicles, gangs and places

Cars and trucks come from the Auto Merchant, so read the vehicle missions and rare cars page before you shop. Classic picks in the vehicles section include the Infernus, Banshee and Rhino. The money side runs through the drug trade, covered in our drug dealers roster.

The gangs section explains who controls the streets: the Liberty City Triads, Angels of Death, Wonsu Nodong and Messina Crime Family. For the boroughs, see the places section with Algonquin and Dukes, and the weapons section for the Minigun and the Stun Gun.

Cheats and tools

The GTA Chinatown Wars cheats page gathers the tips and codes we track for the game. Pair it with the lexicon whenever a name or item in a walkthrough is unfamiliar.

Other GTA editions

Liberty City returns with a new look in the GTA 4 guide, and the series jumps to Los Santos in the GTA 5 guide. To compare every game side by side, open the GTA lexicon, or return to the GTA Chinatown Wars lexicon.

FAQ

Where does GTA Chinatown Wars take place?

It is set in Liberty City in 2009 and covers Algonquin, Bohan, Broker and Dukes. Alderney is not part of the map.

Which platforms is the game on?

It launched on Nintendo DS in March 2009, then reached PSP, iOS and Android. The PSP version adds extra missions.

How do I get missions?

Missions arrive as emails on the PDA, which also gives you the Ammu-Nation shop and the drug-trading screen.

Is this GTA Chinatown Wars guide spoiler-free?

Yes. It sticks to the premise and links to pages that cover each activity, so you can read ahead safely.