Chinatown Gate
The first steps of this tour are through the
elaborate threshold of the Dragon Gate
(at Bush St & Grant Ave), which was donated
by Taiwan in 1970 and announces the
entrance to Chinatown. The street,
beyond the gate, was once a notorious
red-light district, but forward-thinking
Chinatown businessmen reinvented
the area in the 1920s, hiring architects
to create a signature ‘Chinatown Deco’
look. The jumble of glittering shops is the
perfect place to pick up a cheap souvenir.The Walk » Huff it uphill from Chinatown Gate,
past Grant Ave gilded dragon lamps to Old St
Mary’s Square. A few blocks beyond the noble Old
St Mary’s Church take a left on Clay St.Chinese Historical
Society of America Museum
At this intimate museum, visitors picture
what it was like to be Chinese during the
Gold Rush, the transcontinental railroad
construction and the Beat heyday. The
Chinese Historical Society of America
Museum (%415-391-1188; http://www.chsa.org; 965
Clay St; adult/child $5/2, first Tue of month free;
hnoon-5pm Tue-Fri, 11am-4pm Sat) hosts
rotating exhibits across the courtyard in
a graceful building, built as Chinatown’s
YWCA in 1932.The Walk » Backtrack past Stockton St and
turn left down Spofford Alley where mah-jongg
tiles click and Sun Yat-sen plotted the 1911
overthrow of China’s last dynasty. At Washington,
take a right. Then go left on Ross Alley.Golden Gate
Fortune Cookie Factory
Ross Alley (sometimes marked as Old
Chinatown Alley) might seem familiar
to movie buffs; it’s been the backdrop
for flicks like Karate Kid, Part II and
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
The humble little warehouse at No 56 is
where to get your fortune while it’s hot,
folded into warm cookies at the Golden
Gate Fortune Cookie Factory (56 Ross Alley;
admission free; h8am-7pm). For a small fee
you can even print custom fortunes.Take this walk on Trips
STRETCH..
YOUR.LEGS
1234 s
Start/Finish Chinatown Gate
Distance 2.7 miles
Duration 4–5 hours
SAN
FRANCISCO
Limber.up.and.look.sharp:.on.
this.walk,.you’ll.pass.hidden.
architectural.gems,.navigate.the.
winding.alleys.of.Chinatown.and.
catch.shimmering.views.of.the.bay..
Along.the.way,.enjoy.controversial.
art,.savory.street.snacks.and.a.flock.
of.parrots.