Chinese immigrants began settling here in the late 1840s, at the start of the Gold Rush, and despite fire, earthquake and decades of exclusion laws, the neighborhood has stayed. It is one of the most densely populated parts of the city, home to many older residents and families, and its streets work on two levels: one for visitors, one for the people who live there.
A walk through it
- The Dragon Gate at Grant Avenue and Bush Street marks the southern entrance. It dates from 1970.
- Grant Avenue runs north under red lanterns, lined with shops, tea houses and restaurants. This is the visitors' street.
- Stockton Street, one block west, is where residents shop: produce stalls, fish tanks, herbal pharmacies and roast-meat windows. Go in the morning, when it is busiest.
- Waverly Place, a short street with painted balconies, holds several temples on its upper floors. One of the oldest welcomes respectful visitors; take your shoes off if asked, do not photograph inside, and leave a small donation.
- Ross Alley has a small fortune cookie bakery where you can watch the cookies being folded by hand.
- Portsmouth Square is the neighborhood's living room, where older residents play cards and xiangqi.
Eating
Chinatown is the place for dim sum, egg tarts, barbecued pork buns and roast duck. See dim sum in Chinatown for how it works.
Practical notes
Chinatown sits between Union Square, Nob Hill and North Beach; walking up Grant and out at the top into North Beach is a natural route. The Chinese New Year parade, usually in February, is one of the largest in the world.
A short history
Chinese immigrants arrived in large numbers during the Gold Rush, many from Guangdong province in southern China. They worked in mines, built the western section of the transcontinental railroad and opened laundries, shops and restaurants. Discrimination was fierce: the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 barred almost all Chinese immigration for sixty years, and Chinese residents were largely confined to this neighborhood.
The 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed Chinatown completely, and city leaders saw a chance to move its residents out to the edge of the city. Community leaders resisted and rebuilt quickly, deliberately using pagoda roofs and Chinese ornament to make the neighborhood a destination for visitors and so harder to remove. Much of the Chinatown you see today dates from that rebuilding. Many of the buildings above the shops are still crowded family apartments, and the neighborhood remains home to thousands of residents.
A walking route
- Enter through the Dragon Gate at Grant Avenue and Bush Street.
- Walk up Grant Avenue, past Old St. Mary's Cathedral at California Street, built in 1854.
- Turn left onto Waverly Place to see the painted balconies of the temples and family associations.
- Cross to Stockton Street for the produce stalls, fishmongers, herbal shops and bakeries used by residents.
- Find Ross Alley and its fortune cookie bakery.
- Rest in Portsmouth Square, the city's original town square, where the American flag was first raised in San Francisco in 1846.
- Visit the Chinese Historical Society of America museum on Clay Street, in a former YWCA building designed by Julia Morgan, for the story of Chinese Americans in the West.
What to buy
Tea, from tins of everyday jasmine to aged pu-erh in specialist shops; porcelain and kitchenware; dried mushrooms and herbs; paper lanterns and calligraphy brushes; and, best of all, pastries from the bakeries: egg tarts, pineapple buns and mooncakes before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Festivals
The Chinese New Year festival and parade, usually in February, fills the neighborhood and much of downtown, with a night parade featuring a very long golden dragon. The Autumn Moon Festival in September brings street stalls and performances to Grant Avenue.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chinatown safe?
Yes, by day and in the evening on the main streets. As anywhere in the city, keep valuables out of sight.
Can I visit the temples?
Some welcome respectful visitors. Be quiet, follow any instructions, do not take photos inside unless allowed, and leave a donation.
Where should I eat?
For dim sum and bakeries, see dim sum in Chinatown. For roast duck and pork, look for windows with roast meats hanging on Stockton Street.