San Francisco Chinatown Tour

Explore San Francisco's Chinatown

San Francisco Chinatown Tour

San Francisco, California 94102, United States

Created By: Chinatown San Francisco

Tour Information

San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese enclave outside Asia. It is also the oldest and largest of the four notable Chinese enclaves within San Francisco. Since its establishment in 1848, it has been highly important and influential in the history and culture of ethnic Chinese immigrants in North America. Chinatown is an enclave that continues to retain its own customs, languages, places of worship, social clubs, and identity. There are two hospitals, several parks and squares, numerous churches, a post office, and other infrastructure. Recent immigrants, many of whom are elderly, opt to live in Chinatown because of the availability of affordable housing and their familiarity with the culture. San Francisco's Chinatown is also renowned as a major tourist attraction, drawing more visitors annually than the Golden Gate Bridge.


Tour Map

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What You'll See on the Tour

This gateway marks the entrance into Chinatown. The plaque in the middle is a replica of Dr Sun Yet Sen.’s proclamation when he overthrew the corrupt monarchy and founded a democratic republic. The four Chinese characters are translated: ... Read more
The famous California cable car route is flanked on each side of the street at Grant Avenue by two prominent Chinatown landmarks: the Sing Chong Building and the Sing Fat Building. These buildings, the first structures to be rebuilt after t... Read more
Old Saint Mary's Church, built in 1854, was the first cathedral in the Western United States. Under the prominent clock face are the words, "Son Observe the Time and Fly from Evil". This message targeted men who frequented the surrounding b... Read more
Waverly Place is known for its colorfully painted balconies and distinctive temples. This street has numerous buildings with unique architecture that house the headquarters of Chinatown’s family associations, historical benevolent associa... Read more
This factory opened in 1962 and remains the only one where cookies are still made by hand. The funny thing is, fortune cookies were actually the invention of a Japanese immigrant named Makoto Hagiwara who designed the Japanese Tea Garden in... Read more
Built in 1891, this building served as the first Chinese telephone exchange in the entire United States. No telephones numbers were used. Instead, the operators there were required to speak five dialects of Chinese and to know the number of... Read more
Originally opened in 1874 as the “Occidental Mission Home for Girls,” it was later renamed Cameron House for its director Donaldina Cameron who dedicated 47 years of her life to rescuing young girls who were sold into slavery and prosti... Read more
Built in 1873, this is the oldest continuously operating Cable Car barn in the world. The cables inside of this building control a network of cables that run throughout the city to which cable cars clam onto in order to be pulled up and dow... Read more

 

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