Chinatown, San Francisco guide

Just off Chinatown’s busy thoroughfares, you’ll find a network of slim alleyways that are just as interesting. These lively, compact passages are home to click-clacking ‘mahjong parlours’ (where locals play the Chinese tile-based game) and other local businesses. Many are decorated with murals and street art. Colourful Waverly Place is especially famous for its temples and brightly painted buildings with ornate balconies.

After the 1906 earthquake, officials wanted to relocate Chinatown. Advocates fought against the racially motivated move and decided to rebuild the neighbourhood into a tourist attraction. New facades borrowed features from traditional Chinese architecture — such as pagodas and temples — with red, green and yellow paint and curved-up eaves. What emerged is a style unique to San Francisco.

The fortune cookie has become a staple at the end of a Chinese meal in the United States. You can watch the treats being made by hand at the tiny Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory in Ross Alley. Take a factory tour, try flavours like strawberry and green tea, and buy a bag to take home with your own custom fortunes folded inside.

Chinatown’s rich history and artistic tradition thrive in its museums. The Chinese Historical Society Museum contains over 22,000 artefacts, including intricate miniatures by artist Frank Wong depicting everyday life in Chinatown. Flashy costumes and headdresses rule at the Showgirl Magic Museum, which documents yesteryear’s nightclub scene. And the Chinese Cultural Center hosts a rotating display of contemporary art exhibits.

For those travelling with children, you can make the journey to and from Chinatown an event. Two of San Francisco’s iconic cable car lines, the Powell–Mason and Powell–Hyde, stop in the heart of the neighbourhood. After a stroll through the alleyways and shops, stop at the Willie ‘Woo Woo’ Wong Playground, whose centrepiece is a massive dragon sculpture that kids can play on.

The full range of Chinese cuisine is represented here, served in humble settings and fancy food palaces.  You’ll find perfectly crispy Peking duck, spicy Sichuan dishes, dense mooncakes and more. Sample dim sum at Hang Ah, the country’s oldest dim sum parlour. Or try lamb with ‘biang biang’ noodles (thick, hand-pulled noodles) at Michelin-starred Mister Jiu’s.

Chinatown glows when its striking neon signs turn on at night. Pop into a characterful dive like Mr Bing’s for affordable drinks, or duck into the cave-like Li Po Lounge, for its punk sensibility and super strong mai tai. If you’re feeling fancy, sample modern cocktails at the moodily lit Moongate Lounge.

Decorated with red lanterns, bustling Grant Avenue is packed with small stores and vast emporiums selling everything from jade jewellery and mahjong sets to tea and antiques. Savvy shoppers will find bargains everywhere. Snap up a colourful paper lantern or two for your home. Or make your way to Stockton Street for shops selling fresh produce, fish and fragrant herbs.

Chinese New Year is a dazzling spectacle that takes place every January or February to celebrate the new moon. Days of festivities build up to a parade filled with floats, marching bands and performers that draw big crowds. The undisputed star is a colourful, 90-metre-long dragon that ripples through the streets underneath a riot of firecrackers and drums.