Tweet

San Francisco's Chinatown, located at Grant and Stockton Streets is a densely populated area of souvenir shops, dim sum restaurants and Chinese style architecture heavy on the dragon motifs. Like any Chinatown in other cities, it has plenty of annual festivals, open air markets with unplucked chickens and lots of Chinese tea houses specializing in dim sum, those delicious steamed pork buns that are China's version of fast food. Once you walk down the length of Grant and Stockton streets taking in all the sights, sounds and smells of this unique ethnic neighborhood, consider learning more about the interesting history of this area.

Chinese immigrants came to San Francisco in the 1800s like many others of that time, hoping to strike it rich in the discovery of gold. Many later settled in the City of San Francisco, only to experience prejudice and fear from the local citizenry. The infamous Queue Ordinance, made it illegal for Chinese men in San Francisco to wear long braids. If history interests you, it is worth the price of admission to the Chinese Historical Society, to see the powerful exhibits that make this early history of Chinatown come alive for the visitor.

Some other things to see and do in your Chinatown tour:

• Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, where Chinese women still make fortune cookies by hand. Visitors can watch the whole process and sample and purchase fortune cookies.
• Tien Hau Temple, located in Waverly Place, one of the oldest temples in Chinatown, built in 1852, with intricate carvings and a shrine to the goddess of heaven.
• Dim Sum, You can't leave Chinatown without experiencing the local dim sum offerings. Try, Hang Ah Tea Room, originally opened for business in the 1920s, and hasn't changed much since. The old Chinese style ambience alone is worth a trip.

Where is Chinatown: Between Powell, Jackson, Bush and Kearny Streets

Chinatown, San Francisco



Please help us build a better site. Add your comments about Chinatown here.