| CHINATOWN tips and photos posted by real travelers and San Francisco locals.
Bordered by Broadway, Bush, Kearny, Stockton sts.
• 290 Photos
• 207 Reviews
See all San Francisco Things To Do |
 | San Francisco CHINATOWN Reviews | 1 - 10 of 207 |  |
Chinatown is no recent tourist invention, but a thriving neighborhood since the Gold Rush of 1849. Grant Avenue offers the heavily photographed Chinatown Gate and the most ornate Asian architecture but the true essence of the neighborhood is more readily observable a couple streets over on Stockton Street, especially in the early morning when locals are out buying their produce and freshly butchered meat. Live frogs, blue chickens, you name it. You’ll feel like you’re not in the United States, but you are. Chinatown is about as San Francisco as you can get so enjoy it. It’s free to look but get right in and buy something or have something to eat. It’s inexpensive, great quality, and fun too. Leave a Comment
|
Visiting San Francisco?
Read reviews about San Francisco Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
More then 10.000 residents live her in China
Town an you can find the traditional Chinese herbs and food etc.
You go through Pagoda Gates at Grant Avenue and Bush ,and at night the neon lights are fantastic and give that Chinese atmosphere. Leave a Comment
|
More then 10.000 residents live her in China
Town an you can find the traditional Chinese herbs and food etc.
You go through Pagoda Gates at Grant Avenue and Bush ,and at night the neon lights are fantastic and give that Chinese atmosphere. Leave a Comment
|
The reality of Chinatown is that there are two Chinatowns: One belongs to the locals, the other charms the tourists. They overlap and dance with each other, drawing more visitors annually than the Golden Gate Bridge.
Why the popularity? Because visitors expect something they won't find anywhere else. They expect to be stunned and enchanted and stuffed with great food. And they will. You don't need an itinerary to tackle Chinatown. Wandering aimlessly, weaving between locals and ducking into shops is enough of a plan. Main Street for tourists is Grant Avenue, which is more about cheap and kitschy plastic Buddhas than the long heritage of Chinatown. It should definitely be seen, but moving on to the next block can be more rewarding.
Chinatown is located in downtown San Francisco. It is roughly bordered by Powell Street and the Nob Hill District on the west. On the east is Kearny Street and The City's Financial District. On the north is North Beach and Green Street and Columbus Street. On the south is Bush Street and the Union Square area.
Within Chinatown there are two major thoroughfares. One is Grant Avenue, with the famous Dragon gate on the corner of Bush Street and Grant Avenue; St. Mary's Park that boasts a statue of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen; a war memorial to Chinese war veterans; and a plethora of stores, restaurants and mini-malls that cater mainly to tourists. The other, Stockton Street, is frequented less often by tourists, and it presents an authentic Chinese look and feel, reminiscent of Hong Kong, with its produce and fish markets, stores, and restaurants. Chinatown boasts smaller side streets and alleyways that also provide an authentic character. Another major focal point in Chinatown is Portsmouth Square. Due to its being one of the few open spaces in Chinatown, Portsmouth Square bustles with activity such as Tai Chi and old men playing Chinese chess. A replica of the Goddess of Democracy used in the Tiananmen Square protest was built in 1999 by Thomas Marsh, and stands in the square. Directions: Ornamental gate at Grant and Bush intersection.Website: http://www.sfchinatown.com/ Other Contact: www.sanfranciscochinatown.com
|
 | |  |
A city within a city San Francisco's Chinatown is the largest Chinatown in North-America, and the most commercial. San Francisco's Chinatown offers colorful sights and sounds best seen on foot. The obvious starting place is just north of Union Square at the base of Grant Avenue, the oldest street in San Francisco; pass through the dragon-guarded gateway, a gift from the Republic of China, and you enter the largest Chinatown in North America.
There are some tacky curio shops, but the 30,000 Chinese, most of whom speak Cantonese, live in a tightly knit, distinctly un-Western community. It's a great place for casual wandering through narrow alleys, where on quiet afternoons you can hear the clack of mahjong tiles from behind screen doors, or discover a small eatery whose proprietor can teach you the intricacies of chopsticks, or see workers hand-making fortune cookies in Ross Alley.
The narrow streets are crowded with residents and tourists, here for the curio shops, herb markets, pagodas and restaurants. The shops along Grant Street, the main thoroughfare, cater to the tourist trade. For a less commercial experience the area you should visit is located between Stockton Street and Grant Street, which has the best Chinatown atmosphere.
Besides the well known Chinatown Gate, the approx. 24-block area contains a lot of pagoda-roofed buildings, as well as nicely decorated lamp posts and phone booths in Chinese style. Chinatown also has several temples; three of them are located in the Waverly Place, which is also known as the 'street of painted balconies'. This street is certainly worth a visit. Another nice and much-photographed place in Chinatown is the corner of California and Grant, which has some nice pagoda-roofed buildings Leave a Comment
|
| | |
Visiting San Francisco?
Read reviews about San Francisco Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
The "Dragon's Gate" is at Grant Avenue and Bush Street. From here you enter to another world.
Lots of shops (souvenirs), restaurants, temples.... But it was the people’s faces, the food vendors... and the dried fish.... what will go with me in my memory forever....
Leave a Comment
|
San Francisco's Chinatown is vibrant and bustling. Some tipsters have said Chinatown is touristy - I disagree. This is an authentic Chinese community. The restaurants are excellent. An ability to read Chinese is a plus if you plan to shop at any one of the many Chinese markets.
The best streets are Stockton and Grant. Leave a Comment
|
More then 10.000 residents live here in China
Town and you can find the traditional Chinese herbs and food etc.
You go through Pagoda Gates at Grant Avenue and Bush ,and at night the neon lights are fantastic and give that Chinese atmosphere. Leave a Comment
|
This is a very small shop in China town where you can see them making fortune cookies. They will also let you sample the cookies. You can buy a bag of fortune cookies for $3 or you can get a naughty bag for $4.
I opted for the naughty bag and found the fortunes to be very humorous.
Example: Fu Ling Yu Says: On honeymoon, bride get sleepy. Can't stay awake for a second. Leave a Comment Phone: 415-781-3956Directions: China Town
|
More then 10.000 residents live her in China
Town an you can find the traditional Chinese herbs and food etc.
You go through Pagoda Gates at Grant Avenue and Bush ,and at night the neon lights are fantastic and give that Chinese atmosphere. Leave a Comment
|
|
- Chelsea Motor Inn
2095 Lombard St, San Francisco, CA - Olympic Hotel (140 Mason Street )
140 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA - San Fransisco Carlton
1075 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA - Inn at Union Square
440 Post Street, San Francisco, CA - El Capitan Hotel
2361 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA - Hostelling International San Francisco City Center
685 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA - Courtyard By Marriott San Francisco Downtown
299 Second Street, San Francisco, CA - Wharf Inn
2601 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA - Halcyon Hotel
649 Jones St, San Francisco, CA - Larkspur Landing Sfo Airport N
690 Gateway Boulevard, San Francisco, CA - Verona
317 Leavenworth Street, San Francisco, CA - Renoir Hotel
45 Mcallister Street, San Francisco, CA - White Swan Inn
845 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA - Hotel Palomar - A Kimpton Hotel
12 Fourth St, San Francisco, CA - Hayes Valley Inn
417 Gough St., San Francisco, CA
|
on November 14, 2005
on September 16, 2004
on October 19, 2007
on March 11, 2005
on September 4, 2004
on May 7, 2004
on March 21, 2004
