| Chinatown, San Francisco, California |
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San Francisco 's Chinatown is one of North America 's largest Chinatown s. It is the oldest and one of the most historic Chinatowns. Established in the 1850s, it has been featured in popular culture, such as in Film , Music , Photography , and Literature . Chinatown has been experiencing some decline over the years due to the cropping up of newer Chinatown communities in the Richmond and Sunset Districts of San Francisco, possibly from the revitalization of Oakland's Chinatown – only 10 miles away – in recent decades, and from the development of Asian shopping centers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area . Despite this, it remains a major Tourist Attraction — drawing more visitors than the Golden Gate Bridge , and being one of the largest and most prominent centers of Chinese activity outside of China . (Taiwan).]] LOCATION AND SUB-AREAS 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. Despite its decline, it has been slowly expanding northward into the North Beach neighborhood north of Green and Columbus Street. 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. It is made of bronze and weighs approximately 600 lb (272 kg). In recent years, other Chinatown areas have been established within the city of San Francisco proper, including the Richmond and Sunset districts. These areas have been settled largely by Chinese from Southeast Asia. There are also many suburban Chinese communities in the Bay Area, especially in Silicon Valley , such as Cupertino , Fremont , and Milpitas . Taiwanese American s are dominant. Despite these developments, many continue to commute in from these outer neighborhoods and cities to shop in Chinatown, causing gridlock on roads and public transit, especially on weekends. To address this problem, the local public transit agency, Muni , is proposing to Extend the city's Subway Network to the neighborhood. HISTORY , 1898. The population was predominantly male because U.S. policies at the time made it difficult for Chinese women to enter the country.]] San Francisco's Chinatown was the port of entry for early Taishan ese and Zhongshan ese Chinese immigrants from the southern Guangdong province of China from the 1850s to the 1900s . The Chinatown in particular was a stronghold for the Taishanese community. The majority of shopkeepers and restaurant owners in San Francisco were predominantly Taishanese and male. They came as laborers to build California's growing railway networks, most famously the Transcontinental Railroad or as miners either employed or independent miners hoping to strike it rich during the 1848 Gold Rush . As more and more immigrants arrived, racial tensions in the city boiled over into full blown race riots. In response to this, the Chinese residents formed the Consolidated Chinese Benevolent Association or the Chinese Six Companies. The Xenophobia became law as the United States Government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 – the first immigration restriction law geared at a single ethnic group. This law, along with other immigration restriction laws such as the Geary Act , greatly reduced the amounts of Chinese allowed into the country and the city, and restricted Chinese immigration to single males only. The law greatly reduced the population of the neighborhood to an all time low in the 1920s . The exclusion act was repealed during World War Two under the Magnuson Act . The neighborhood was completely destroyed in the 1906 Earthquake that leveled the city. During the city's rebuilding process, racist city planners and real-estate developers had hatched plans to move Chinatown to the Hunters Point neighborhood at the southern edge of the city, even further south in Daly City , or even back to China and the neighborhood would absorbed into the financial district. Their plans failed as the Chinese, particularly with the efforts of Consolidated Chinese Box companies, the Chinese government, and American commercial interests reclaimed the neighborhood and convinced the city government to relent. Part of their efforts in doing so was to plan and rebuild the neighborhood as a western friendly tourist attraction. The rebuilt area that is seen today, resembles such plans. {Link without Title} Many early Chinese immigrants to San Francisco and beyond were processed at Angel Island , now a state park, in the San Francisco Bay . Several monuments and memorials have been erected. The repeal of the Exclusion act and the other immigration restriction laws, coupled with the rise of Communist China , led to a major population boom in the area during the 1950s and 1960s . Further easing of discrimination and other restrictive policies, overcrowding, the general upward mobility of Chinese immigrants, led to many of the neighborhood's residents to move and set up smaller Chinatowns in the outer neighborhoods of the Richmond District and Sunset District and in other suburbs across the San Francisco Bay Area as well as newer immigrants – such as Mandarin-speaking immigrants from Taiwan who have tended to settled in suburban Cupertino, Milpitas, Mountain View – avoiding the neighborhood entirely. This suburbanization is ongoing today and is contributing to the neighborhood's decline. In the summer of 1977, an ongoing rivalry between two Chinese American Gang s erupted in violence and bloodshed, culminating in a shooting spree at the Golden Dragon Restaurant on Washington Street. Five persons were killed and 11 were wounded, and the incident has become infamously known as the Golden Dragon Massacre . The restaurant still stands today and remains a popular Dim Sum restaurant for tourists. While the neighborhood continues to receive newer immigrants and maintains a lively and active character, the aforementioned suburbanization and the upward mobility of the Chinese leave the neighborhood relatively poor, decrepit (in some parts), and largely elderly. Today, the historic and multistory Sam Wo Restaurant is among the most popular and notorious Chinese restaurants in Chinatown. In local lore, it once contained the supposedly "world's rudest waiter" named Edsel Ford Fong, who was born and raised in Chinatown and died in the 1980s. The restaurant has been used as a filming location for several television series and films. DEMOGRAPHICS In recent decades, Cantonese -speaking immigrants from Hong Kong and Mainland China has gradually led to the the replacement of the Taishanese dialect with the standard Cantonese dialect as a lingua franca. However, Taishanese is still a widely spoken language, and because of a degree of Mutual Intelligibility between the two, most Taishanese speakers can either understand or speak Cantonese. Many working-class Hong Kong Chinese immigrants began arriving in large numbers in the 1960s and despite their status and professions in Hong Kong, immigrants found low-pay employment in restaurants and garment factories in Chinatown due to limited English ability. MISCELLANEOUS San Francisco's Chinatown is home to the well-known and historic Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (known as the Chinese Six Companies ), which is the umbrella organization for local Chinese family and regional associations in Chinatown. It has spawned lodges in other Chinatowns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including Chinatown, Los Angeles and Chinatown, Portland . Author Amy Tan grew up in the neighborhood. Her book the '' Joy Luck Club '' is based on her experiences here as well as it chronicles the neighborhood's history. The Chinatown has served as a backdrop for several movies and television shows. It has also been featured in several food television programs dealing with ethnic Chinese Cuisine . NEW "CHINATOWNS" IN THE BAY AREA Within the city of San Francisco Because of aforementioned conditions in Chinatown, several Chinese enclaves or "new Chinatowns" have sprung up across the city. Most notable are a section of Clement Street between Arguello Street & Park Presidio in the Richmond District , Irving Street between 19th Avenue and 24th Street, and Noriega Street between 19th Avenue and 25th Streets, both in the Sunset District . Unlike in most Chinatowns In North America , Ethnic Chinese Refugees From Vietnam have not established businesses in San Francisco's Chinatown district – undisputedly the largest of its kind in North America – due to high property values and rents. Instead, many Chinese Vietnamese – as opposed to ethnic Vietnamese who tended to congregate in larger numbers in San Jose – have established a separate Vietnamese enclave on Larkin Street in the heavily working-class Tenderloin District of San Francisco, where it is now known as the city's " Little Saigon " and not as a "Chinatown" per se. As with historic Chinatown, Little Saigon plans to construct an arch signifying its entrance, as well as directional street signs leading to the community. Surrounding areas Countless suburban strip mall alternatives to the original Chinatown in the city of San Francisco proper have been developed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and these are considered the most notable. This attributed to the aggressive growth of the highly popular 99 Ranch Market chain of south California and putting them in competition with the older established Chinatown enclaves, which have more mom-and-pop operations. Often, unlike the traditional Cantonese-speaking Chinatowns in San Francisco or Oakland, Mandarin Chinese is the lingua franca of these communities. Outside the San Francisco area, suburban Cupertino, California in the San Jose area has emerged the major Taiwanese cultural and retail center in the Bay Area, especially with a major shopping center titled ''Cupertino Village'' anchored by the supermarket chain 99 Ranch Market . A similar, but larger shopping center by the name of ''Milpitas Square'', also featuring 99 Ranch Market, can be found in Milpitas , adjacent to the northeast corner of San Jose. These plazas contain variety of regional Chinese cuisine and other Asian cuisine restaurants, boba tea shops, bakeries, and boutiques. A smaller Chinese commercial district lines Castro Street in the suburb of Mountain View, California where immigrant businesses now occupy once abandoned 1950s-era downtown storefronts. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle) Other suburban communities in the San Francisco Bay Area with a large Chinese presence include Foster City and Daly City (also home to a large Filipino population) in San Mateo County and Fremont in Alameda County. All of these cities have Chinese themed shopping centers anchored by 99 Ranch Market. In addition, the Warm Springs district of Fremont includes a shopping center known as "Little Taipei" anchored by Lion Supermarket. More Asian-oriented strip malls can be found in Richmond, California ('''Pacific East Mall'' anchored by 99 Ranch Market) and San Pablo (''San Pablo Marketplace'' anchored by Shun Fat Supermarket ). REFERENCES Readings
SEE ALSO 49-Mile Scenic Drive EXTERNAL LINKS
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