Chinatown, San Francisco
Chinatowns are well-known across the US and the globe as a center for food, tourism, and community. Today, I will discuss one of the US’s largest chinatowns in San Francisco, and tomorrow I will explore chinatowns in New York.
The earliest known establishments of a chinatown in San Francisco came as early as 1850, when the mayor of California welcomed three hundred “China boys” to Portsmouth Square in San Francisco. By 1870, the center of Chinatown SF was moved to Dupont St, which became the only enclave that allowed Chinese migrants to inhabit. The majority of these immigrants came from the west side of the Pearl River Delta and mainly spoke the Hoisanese and Zhongshanese dialects. Up through the 1880s, Chinatown SF is best characterized a slum riddled with prostitution, gambling, poverty, and overcrowding. Once the Transcontinental Railroad completed in 1869, Chinatown SF became a hotspot for tourism to attract white, working class people who sought after rumors about Chinese and oriental novelties. Seeing its initial success, tourist groups began to accentuate the vice-ridden culture in Chinatown SF, often reenacting scenes to further emphasize a depraved Chinatown. Note that Chinatown SF was not the only place of prostitution, danger, and gambling; the entire city of San Franscico faced a problem of high criminal rates.
During the 1906 earthquake, Chinatown SF was completely destroyed, and the City of San Francisco attempted to move its location to the outskirts of the city, even beyond city borders. These attempts engendered protests not only by Imperial China but also locals for the fear that it would hamper trade relations. Thus, rebuilding began to take place in the same quarters. The intention was to make sure that a rebuilt Chinatown SF resembled an “oriental” style, which was supported by White Americans who longed for an ethnic tourist experience, as well as Chinese entrepreneurs who led successful tourism businesses. One local newspaper described the “new Chinatown” as a place with "substantial, modern, fireproof buildings of brick and stone ... following the Oriental style of architecture." Perceptions of Chinatown continued to be degrading since the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act until World War II, where China was an ally with the US, along with community events to raise funds to fight against the Axis alliance.
With the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, a new wave of Chinatown SF demographics changes began to play out, with the dominant Chinese dialect moving from Hoisanese/Taishanese to Cantonese. Crime and violence continue to be common occurrences in Chinatown SF, even today, but large pushes to create an appealing and safe place for tourism and living led to what has become one of the main tourist attractions in San Francisco.
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