THE SAN FRANCISCO
CHINATOWN NEIGHBORHOOD

You might be surprised to find that the San Francisco Chinatown that is a must-see for every San Francisco visitor is not just a tourist attraction - it's also a living, breathing, and vibrant example of a San Francisco neighborhood where Chinese still live, work, and shop! Just not so much on Grant Avenue.

A LITTLE OF CHINATOWN'S HISTORY

Originally THE port of entry for Chinese immigrants in the 1850s, San Francisco's Chinatown was the only area where they were allowed to live.

So it naturally evolved into an active and bustling Chinese community with its own shops, pharmacies, and eateries.

(CC) Adam

The majority of the inhabitants were male and had come to California in the wake of the Gold Rush.

Many worked as cheap labor for the railroads, but some became the merchants and restaurant owners, and some even worked in the gold mines or became prospectors themselves.

Eventually Chinatown also became home to opium dens, brothels and gambling parlors (many of whose customers were non-Chinese and from outside of Chinatown).

The San Francisco Chinatown neighborhood suffered much during and after the Panic of 1873. Because of the scarcity of jobs, San Franciscans - like their European counterparts throughout the country - became xenophobic, resulting in race tensions and outright violence against the Chinese immigrants.

When the Great Earthquake struck in 1906, and much of San Francisco was destroyed either by the quake itself, or by the ensuing fires, Chinatown was one of the casualties.

Though many wanted to take the opportunity to rid The City of its Chinese populace, those who worked to rebuild the neighborhood as an authentic Chinatown tourist attraction won the day, using the argument that it would add to The City's coffers (though they received little help from those coffers).

Today the San Francisco Chinatown neighborhood is an animated & populated mixture of the old and the new - the cultural heritage of a people and the pilgrimage of those who would like to know more about that heritage.

VISIT THE REAL CHINATOWN: A SAN FRANCISCO NEIGHBORHOOD

The truth of the matter is, there are two Chinatowns, although they're so intertwined as to be nearly inseperable. There's the Chinatown that caters to tourists from all over the world on Grant Avenue (San Francisco's original and oldest street), with restaurants, bazaars, tea shops, and bakeries.

Then there's the San Francisco Chinatown neighborhood, where the locals live in teeming tenements, where there are murals and back alleys, gilt buildings, lucky addresses, monkey-paw prints, and tales of brothels, opium dens, gambling parlors, and sweatshops from the old days.

Though in no way hidden, Portsmouth Square is of the real Chinatown.

Most of the aproximately 27,000 people who live here are crowded into small tenement apartments (that are about 8' by 9' and are shared with 4 or 5 other people), so Chinatown's largest open-spaced area is the center of community life.

Children play at the jungle gym, grandmothers visit and gossip, people practice Tai Chi or take their daily constitutionals, old men while away the afternoon playing Elephant Chess and Wei Qi.

A good time to visit to see the real Chinatown is in the early morning when Chinese families are hustling about, doing their daily grocery shopping (as many do not have refrigerators) before heading off to jobs or appointments.

Meander along Stockton Street and immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and smells of authentic Chinese markets offering all manner of fruits, vegetables, and protein (from live animals sold by the pound to already dressed and cooked chickens and ducks hanging by their feet).

And don't forget the in-between streets - Sacramento, Clay, Washington, & Jackson - for other typically Chinese fare including herbalists, tea houses, authentic neighborhood restaurants, and Chinese temples.

One of the most interesting things you can do in Chinatown is take a guided tour of the alleyways. The tours are called Chinatown Alleyway Tours, and are run through the Chinatown Community Development Center.

You'll be guided by a young person from the Adopt-An-Alleyway Youth Project - most of whom have lived in San Francisco's Chinatown and can share, not only the rich historical and cultural aspects of their home with you, but their own personal experience as well!

Both Chinatowns include narrow streets, colorful buildings, green pagoda roofs, Chinese Red banners with white Chinese calligraphy, and the sounds of Cantonese, the main language of Chinatown.

Chinese immigrants continue to come to California, and they frequently start off in the San Francisco Chinatown neighborhood.

Here they find familiar language, foods, and customs to help them get off to a good start, and - while most will eventually leave for a better life elsewhere - there will always be more newcomers to take their places.

If you'd like to know more about other San Francisco neighborhoods, take a look at these:

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