Chinatown and Dragon's Gate

San Francisco's Chinatown, entered through the Dragon's Gate at Grant Avenue and Bush Street, is the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest Chinese communities outside Asia. Established in the 1840s during the Gold Rush, the neighborhood in California was rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake and fire with pagoda-style rooflines intended to draw visitors. The green-tiled Dragon's Gate, a gift from Taiwan in 1970, marks the formal entrance to the main tourist street, Grant Avenue, and is a popular photo spot.

Visitors will find two quite different sides of the neighborhood. Grant Avenue is lined with souvenir shops, jewelers, tea sellers and restaurants, while Stockton Street, a couple of blocks to the west, is where residents shop for groceries at produce stalls, fish markets, herbal shops and bakeries. Side lanes add further interest, particularly Ross Alley, home to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, where cookies are made by hand and sold warm. Waverly Place holds the Tin How Temple, an upstairs temple dedicated to the sea goddess Tin How, and the area has family associations, museums and cultural centers, including the Chinese Historical Society of America.

A typical visit takes two to three hours, longer with a dim sum meal or a walking tour. Good photo angles include the Dragon's Gate framed by the buildings on Bush Street, the painted balconies and lanterns on Grant Avenue and the bustling produce stands on Stockton Street. Visitors are advised to ask before photographing people or the inside of the temple.

Weekday mornings are best for seeing the markets at their most active and with the smallest crowds, while Saturdays and holidays, especially around Lunar New Year, are very busy. The neighborhood is easily reached from Powell Street station, and Muni buses 1 and 30 run along Stockton Street. The neighborhood is safe in the daytime, though visitors should watch for pickpockets in crowds.