San Francisco Neighborhoods · Chinatown
Chinatown
Sun zoneThe oldest Chinatown in North America — a dense, lantern-strung hillside of temples, dim sum parlors and dragon-topped alleys where over a century of Chinese-American life still hums.
- Oldest Chinatown in North America
- Incredibly walkable
- Transit-rich
- World-class dim sum
On the map
Open Chinatown on the map →The story
Chinatown grew up around Portsmouth Square and old Dupont Street (now Grant Avenue) after the 1848 Gold Rush, when San Francisco became the port of entry for Chinese miners and merchants bound for “Gold Mountain.” Grant Avenue is the city’s oldest street, and the quarter became the cultural anchor for Chinese immigrants across North America. Leveled by the 1906 earthquake and fire, the community rebuilt on the same blocks in a deliberately ornate style to draw tourism and resist relocation. Today its roughly 30 blocks remain one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in San Francisco.
Things most people don’t know
A gift from across the Pacific
The Dragon Gate at Grant Ave and Bush St was built in 1970 as a gift from the Republic of China (Taiwan); its inscription reads “All under heaven is for the good of the people.”
One of the oldest Taoist temples in the U.S.
Tin How Temple on Waverly Place, dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu, traces its roots to the 1850s and still operates several flights up a narrow stairway.
Fortune cookies folded by hand
The Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory has hand-folded cookies in tiny Ross Alley since 1962 — you can watch them come off the press.
Rebuilt after 1906
After the earthquake and fire destroyed it, the community rebuilt Chinatown on its original site with the flamboyant pagoda rooflines that define Grant Avenue today.
Eating and drinking
Restaurants
- Mister Jiu's · 28 Waverly Pl
- R&G Lounge · 631 Kearny St
- Z & Y Restaurant · 655 Jackson St
- Great Eastern Restaurant · 649 Jackson St
- Good Mong Kok Bakery · 1039 Stockton St
Bars
- Li Po Cocktail Lounge · 916 Grant Ave
- Comstock Saloon · 155 Columbus Ave
Getting around and getting care
Transit. The Central Subway's Chinatown–Rose Pak Station (Stockton at Washington) serves Muni Metro's T Third line. The California Street cable car runs through the heart of the neighborhood, and the Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde cable cars run along its western edge. Buses: 1, 8, 30, 45.
Nearest hospital. Chinese Hospital, 845 Jackson St (in the neighborhood)
Thinking about Chinatown?
Send me an address and I will come back with its sun, wind and fog, what is under it, and what has closed on the block.