DISTANCE: 1 mile (2km)
TIME: 3 hours
START/END: Chinatown Gate
POINTS TO NOTE: Visit during normal business hours when the streets are most alive. This route begins at the intersection of Bush Street and Grant Avenue near Union Square (BART and Metro: Montgomery or Powell Street stations; bus: Market Street lines).
San Francisco’s Chinatown is one of those rare tourist attractions that is also a dynamic community. It is as close as you can get to a city within a city, complete with its own banks, schools, doctors, and sweatshops, sadly reminiscent of those at the turn of the 20th century.
Kong Chow Temple
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
Historic hub
Despite Chinatown’s being in a sense a world of its own, it has been a significant part of San Francisco’s history since the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Due to the political upheaval and widespread famine in Southern China in the 1850s, thousands of Chinese came to California to find their fortunes in the goldfields of the Sierras or to work on the Transcontinental Railroad. These immigrants quickly set up a commercial district near the then center of town, Portsmouth Square.
By the mid-19th century, “Little Canton,” as it was then known, was filled with hotels, boarding houses, restaurants, stores, and pharmacies plying herbal remedies. Christened “Chinatown” by the local press, it was also notorious as a magnet for vice. Brothels, opium dens, and gambling rings were legion and often exaggerated to justify rampant anti-Chinese racism.
Discrimination and hostility reached a boiling point in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake and fire, which leveled the ramshackle Chinatown. Seeing the opportunity to seize the valuable downtown real estate, as well as to eradicate what they saw as a blight on the city, San Francisco’s leaders attempted to relocate Chinatown to the distant southeast corner of the city. However, the residents of Chinatown would have no such thing, and due to their steadfastness and the intervention of the Dowager Empress on behalf of her distant subjects, Chinatown was rebuilt in its original spot in the heart of the city. In recent years, the city’s Chinese population has grown substantially in other areas including the Richmond, Sunset and Russian Hill neighborhoods. Yet, with 100,000 residents packed into just 24 square blocks, Chinatown remains the thriving cultural heart of the Bay Area’s Chinese community.
Every year in early spring, Chinatown sees the biggest Chinese New Year’s celebration outside of Asia, cramming thousands into the neighborhood for festivities. Firecracker wrappers litter every alleyway, vendors fill the streets, and a spectacular parade with a 201ft (61m) Golden Dragon is the high point of the celebration.
Chinatown Gate
iStockphoto
Bilingual street sign
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
CHINATOWN GATE AND GRANT AVENUE
The “official” entrance of Chinatown is through the ornate Chinatown Gate, or “Dragon’s Gate”, 1 [map] that arches over Grant Avenue. Gifted by Taiwan in 1970, the green, dragon-crested structure was modeled after a traditional village gate. At the top of the gate, four gilded Chinese characters in raised relief translate as “Everything in the World is in Just Proportion.” Together with Bush Street, it marks the southern edge of Chinatown; the western, northern, and eastern borders are marked by Powell, Broadway, and Kearny streets, respectively.
Pass underneath the gate along Grant Avenue, the oldest street in San Francisco. First named in 1845 by the town of Yerba Buena as Calle de la Fundación, it also served a long stint as Dupont Street, in honor of an admiral of the U.S.S. Portsmouth. Grant Avenue is one of Chinatown’s most vital arteries. Racks of tourist-targeting merchandise spill onto sidewalks overwhelmed with silks, satiny slippers, teapots, carved teak, jade, jewelry, and other Chinese tchotchkes (souvenirs or knick-knacks).
Dragon House
A respite is offered by the authentic Dragon House 2 [map] (455 Grant Avenue; daily 10am–6pm) and its genuine Asian antiques and fine arts. Though Grant Avenue feels in many ways like a Disney version of “Chinatown,” do not be fooled: behind the tourist-oriented commercialism exists a thriving, insular, and in many ways impenetrable community.
ST MARY’S SQUARE
From Grant Avenue, turn right onto Pine Street. The entrance to St Mary’s Square 3 [map] (daily 6am–10pm) is on the left. In this small but peaceful patch of refuge from the busy surrounding streets, Chinatown residents and Financial District workers on lunch breaks rest on wooden benches. Note the large metal-and-granite statue designed by Beniamino Bufano; the statue honors reformer Dr. Sun Yat-sen, a leader of the rebellion that ended the Qing Dynasty’s reign and helped to establish the Republic of China in the early 1900s.
Old St Mary’s Church
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
OLD ST MARY’S CHURCH
Exit the square heading north and cross California Street to reach the Roman Catholic Old St Mary’s Church 4 [map] (660 California Street; www.oldsaintmarys.org; Mon–Fri 7am–4.30pm, Sat 7am– 6pm, Sun 7am–3pm; free). Established in 1853, this Paulist-led parish church was California’s first cathedral and San Francisco’s Catholic cathedral for most of the second half of the 19th century. Eventually its location amidst neighbors of ill repute (note the inscription outside beneath the clock that reads “Son Observe the Time and Fly from Evil”) led to the construction of a new cathedral at a better-respected address. Although the building survived the 1906 earthquake, it was gutted by the ensuing fire and rebuilt in 1909.
Niche shops
Turn right onto Grant Avenue and continue north for some of Chinatown’s unique shops. (If you need a pitstop at this point, pop into the Eastern Bakery 1, at No. 720.) The Chinatown Kite Shop 5 [map] (717 Grant Avenue; www.chinatownkite.com; daily 9.30am–9pm) is a kaleidoscope of kites in every shape and size and is crammed with phoenixes, dragons, butterflies, and more. Across the street, the Wok Shop 6 [map] (718 Grant Avenue; tel: 989-3797; www.wokshop.com; daily 10am–6pm) dispenses woks, sake sets, sushi-making tools, and a melting pot of everything else you could want for Chinese cooking adventures.
PORTSMOUTH SQUARE
From Grant Avenue, turn right onto Clay Street to reach Portsmouth Square 7 [map]. Designed in 1839, this Chinatown community gathering place is steeped in history and often considered the birthplace of San Francisco. The square was once the town center of Yerba Buena, and overlooked Yerba Buena Cove to the east, where the Financial District skyscrapers stand today. In 1846, this was where Captain John Montgomery of the U.S.S. Portsmouth first raised the American flag, and a year later, it was the site of San Francisco’s first school (a memorial in the square commemorates the event). Here also Sam Brannan, owner of San Francisco’s first newspaper, the California Star, announced that gold had been discovered in the Sierra foothills.
Note the 600lb (272kg) bronze Goddess of Democracy statue created by volunteers led by sculptor Thomas Marsh. This is a smaller replica of the statue created during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
In the northwest corner of the square is a tribute to writer Robert Louis Stevenson designed by Bruce Porter. In 1879–80, Stevenson came here to ship-watch while waiting for his darling to divorce; today, idlers still flock to chat and people-watch, as youngsters clamber on jungle gyms and old men argue about politics while playing checkers and mah-jong at small tables that dot the square.
CULTURE CENTER
Use the short pedestrian bridge on the eastern edge of the square to enter the Chinese Culture Center 8 [map] (3rd floor; 750 Kearny Street; www.c-c-c.org; Tue–Sat 10am–4pm; free) inside the Hilton San Francisco Financial District. This non-profit organization teaches about historical and modern practices and celebrations in Chinese and Chinese-American culture. Retrace your steps along the pedestrian bridge and exit the square on the north onto Washington Street.
UNITED COMMERCIAL BANK
Head west on Washington Street. On the left is one of Chinatown’s original buildings, the East West Bank 9 [map] (743 Washington Street). The three-tiered, pagoda-like structure was built in 1909 after the original was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. California’s first newspaper, the California Star, was once printed here, but the building is better known as the one-time home of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company’s Chinese Telephone Exchange. In operation from 1894–1949, the telephone exchange was staffed by astonishingly capable female telephone operators. They not only spoke English and five Chinese dialects, but also memorized all the customers’ names, as it was considered rude to refer to a person as a number. Moreover, they distinguished between people with the same name by memorizing addresses and job titles!
Waverly Place, “the street of painted balconies”
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
TOWARDS STOCKTON STREET
Turn north at Grant and continue until Broadway, taking time for a bite to eat at one of the several local options, such as the Golden Gate Bakery 2 or Empress of China 3. Then check out where locals stock up for dinner by walking up Pacific Avenue and then turning left onto bustling Stockton Street. This is Chinatown’s working center, crammed with Chinese-owned and operated businesses, countless dollar stores, and open-air fresh produce stands and markets.
Treats at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
Passing a mural on Ross Street
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
GOLDEN GATE FORTUNE COOKIE FACTORY
Follow the scent of fresh fortune cookies and turn left onto Jackson Street and then right into the tiny Ross Alley, where the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory ) [map] (56 Ross Alley; daily 8am–8pm; free, small charge for taking photographs) has been producing cookie-encased predictions and words of wisdom since 1962. Watch the two workers take flat rounds off the press, stick a fortune inside, and fold them over a rod. Then taste some novelty flat and fortune-less cookies, bags of which are also for sale.
Offerings at the Tin Hou Temple
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
TIN HOU TEMPLE
Continue south on Ross and cross Washington Street to enter Waverly Place, an alley that may sound familiar to fans of Amy Tan’s Chinatown-set The Joy Luck Club. Known as the “Street of Painted Balconies,” Waverly offers a brief reprieve from Chinatown’s frenetic hum, with stores selling “real” Chinese goodies: lychee wine, pickled ginger, and herbal remedies. At No. 125, climb up three floors to reach the historic Tin Hou Temple ! [map] (daily 10am–4pm; donation suggested), believed to be the oldest Chinese temple in the country. Red paper lanterns blanket the ceiling and incense fills the air inside this tiny temple dedicated to the Queen of the Heavens and Goddess of the Seven Seas, a protector of travelers, sailors, artists, and prostitutes.
CHINESE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
At the junction of Waverly Place and Clay Street, turn right to visit the Chinese Historical Society of America @ [map] (965 Clay Street; www.chsa.org; Tue–Fri noon–5pm, Sat 11am–4pm; charge, 1st Thur of month free). At this museum and learning center, small displays explore Chinese-American history, art, and culture, including how Chinese contributions fueled the development of industries in the American West. Note that there is a wheelchair-accessible entrance on Joice Street.
BACK TO CHINATOWN GATE
Walk south on Joice, noting the dark, clinker-brick building on the corner at 920 Sacramento Street. It is the Donaldina Cameron House £ [map], designed by the notable San Francisco-born architect Julia Morgan (1872–1957). At this point turn left on Sacramento to browse Chinese and world musical instruments at Clarion Music Center $ [map] (816 Sacramento Street; www.clarionmusic.com; Mon–Fri 11am–6pm, Sat 9am–5pm). Then turn right on Grant, passing Far East Café 4, on your return to Chinatown Gate.
Food and Drink
1 Eastern Bakery
720 Grant Avenue; tel: 433-7973; www.easternbakery.com; daily B, L, and D; $
Billed as the oldest Chinese bakery in the U.S. (it opened in 1924), this slightly shabby spot is good for a quick pork bun or some traditional Chinese pastries called mooncakes.
2 Golden Gate Bakery
1029 Grant Avenue; tel: 781-2627; daily B, L, and D; $
Beloved of locals, this bakery keeps the crowds happy with traditional treats. Try the egg custards.
3 Empress of China
838 Grant Avenue; tel: 434-1345; daily L and D; $
The only restaurant in Chinatown with a truly spectacular view gives diners a very good perspective on the neighborhood. The cocktail lounge overlooks Grant Street, while the dining room towers above Portsmouth Square. If you do not eat here, at least stop by for a drink and enjoy the ambience.
4 Far East Café
631 Grant Avenue; tel: 982-3245; daily L and D; $
The food here is good, but the atmosphere is the real draw – some of the best in Chinatown with private booths and century-old chandeliers.