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Free Traveling Guides » States » California » San Francisco

Chinatown

San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in the world and one of the largest in North America. It was built in the 1850s, just shortly after Califorina became a state. Chinatown lies along the sloping streets of Nob Hill and spans an area of six blocks by four blocks. Each of the city's three cable car lines goes to Chinatown.

There are two main streets running along Chinatown, Grant Avenue and Stockton Street. The impressive Chinatown Gateway is on the south end of Grant Avenue, the street for tourists. Past the gateway one finds dragon lampposts and dozens of shops with Chinese decorations which sell everything from kites to cooking utensils. Stockton Street, the street for locals, features Chinese fish and produce markets. Chinatown also features several very good Chinese restaurants.

Here are some landmarks of Chinatown:

• The Fortune Cookie Factory: Here visitors can see how fortune cookies are made.
• Kong Chow Temple: This impressive temple features fine Cantonese wood carvings.
• Tin How Temple: This temple was founded in 1852 by the Chinese people grateful for their safe arrival in San Francisco.
• The Bank of Canton: This building was Chinatown's telephone exchange until 1946. The operators spoke five dialects of Chinese.
• Portsmouth Plaza: This was originally the social center of Yerba Buena (precursor to San Francisco) in the 1830s and 1840s. Now it is a gathering place for players of cards and mahjong.
• Chinese Cultural Center: This tall building features an art gallery and a small craft shop and is used for lectures and seminars.
• Chinese Historical Society: This building contains an exhibit of historical artifacts, documents, and photographs.
• Pacific Heritage Museum: This small museum has a fine collection of Asian art exhibits, which are regularly changed.
• Old St. Mary's Church: This very old church features a famous clock tower with the inscription, "Son, observe the time and fly from evil. Ecc.IV.23."

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