An Artist’s Walk in Chinatown

http://www.communitywalk.com/artistwalkchinatown  (click here for map)

When friends and family stay with us, the most requested place to visit is Chinatown.  Despite its initial impression of streets lined with cheap teeshirts and trinkets, Chinatown has tremendous charm and mystery.  For an artist, this neighborhood is filled with photo-ops, art materials, spirituality, interesting smells and sounds. I never tire of walking its streets.

 1.  Start at the Dragon’s Gate on Grant Avenue. It’s the tourist tradition to get one’s picture taken with the stone lions guarding the gate. The one holding the ball is male, the one holding a cub is female.  

 2.  Walk up Grant Avenue past the chirping crickets, tee shirt and trinket shops. By the way, these shops have the best prices in The City for postcards. Look for shops that sell 8 cards for $1.

 3.  Turn left on Clay Street and check out the Clarion Music Center at Clay and Waverley. In addition to Chinese instruments such as the pipa, yue quin and dizi, they have all sorts of interesting world instruments.

 4. Walk along Waverly for two blocks. The second block of Waverly has colorful flags overhead and the view is photogenic.  Check out the Tien Hau Temple (Taoist temple). Go in the small entryway and walk up to the top floor.  Yes, it’s a strenuous climb but you may hear the sounds of people playing mahjong, singing Peking Opera or practicing Chinese music.  When you get upstairs, I promise you will be amazed by what you see.       

 5.  Waverly Place ends at Washington Street. Cross over and walk downhill to Ross Alley. Check out the murals, fortune cookie factory, the oldest barbership in Chinatown and the 98-cent store.  This photogenic alley is one of my favorites in Chinatown.

 6. On the other side of Ross Alley is Jackson Street, my favorite street for art supplies. There are many shops selling paper items for the dead. My favorite shop is Buddha Exquisite Corp, which has a fabulous supply of papers and items for the dead. I recently picked up a paper hargow (shrimp dumpling) dimsum basket  that looked just like the real thing.  If you don’t get enough papers here, check out the shops across the street.

 7. Next to Buddha Exquisite is my favorite tropical fruit store, Seasoning Fruit Special. They have an amazing array of fruits such as dragonfruit, rambutan, star fruit, longan and lychee.  This shop makes me nostalgic for SE Asia.

 8. Walk up Jackson Street to Stockton, turn right.  Stockton Street caters to the residents of Chinatown. Check out the murals on the large apartment complex. A good of friend grew up there, a family of six in a small room.

 9. My favorite dried fish and herb store on Stockton is Cheng Chou City. Check out the large fish intestines, blown up like party balloons. If you like fishy or herbal smells this place is for you!

 10. Keep walking up Stockton, past Broadway. I like to drop into the Stockton Bargain Center, which has a funky smell but has interesting tools and art materials. 

 11. Continue to the Far East Bookstore. In addition to Chinese books, they carry calligraphy supplies.

 12. Cross the street and walk on the other side of Stockton, back towards Broadway. Turn left on Broadway, downhill. On the next block is a fabulous aquarium called Pet Central. Don’t be put off by its blue utilitarian exterior. Once you walk down their blue steps, you enter a magical world of exotic fishes.

 13. Cross the street at Columbus Avenue and check out the famous Beat bookstore, City Lights. You might glimpse poet Ferlinghetti sitting at the counter. 

 14. Walk on Jack Kerouac alley towards Grant Street and turn left.

 15. At Grant and Pacific, turn left on Pacific and right on Beckett, the first alleyway. You will see some red lanterns on a brick building. This is Matsu temple (Taoist). Go in, check out the statues, make a donation, get a red triangle pouch to wear around your neck for good luck.

 16. Walk through Portsmouth Square, filled with people enjoying the sun or playing mahjong. This is the time to slow down, enjoy the sounds of a well-used park. Watch out for pigeons!

 17. On the other side of the park, check out Ho Tai Printing & Art Goods Company. They have a nice supply of red ang bow envelopes for New Year money.

 18. Go back up to Grant Avenue and end your tour on a sweet note by  checking out Eastern Bakery. I like their melon cakes and angel food cakes. At certain times of the year, they also sell mooncakes with double duck yolk inside.  One is enough for two or more persons – these cakes are very rich and dense.

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