Oakland Chinatown: One of the Oldest Chinatowns in North America
While it may not attract as many tourists as its more famous San Francisco counterpart, Chinatown in Oakland is an authentic pan-Asian neighborhood with a long history spanning the Chinese experience in California.
The Chinese began creating settlements in Oakland during the 1850’s Gold Rush. After the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882, resulting in a decrease in the Chinese population in Oakland, Chinatown on Webster and 8th remained standing. Later, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire led many Chinese living across the Bay to relocate to Oakland, and the Chinatown community here grew all the more, developing a range of athletic teams, civil-rights groups, business associations, churches, and other networks, some of which are still present today.
Today, Chinese American and other Asian American groups like Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Cambodian, Laotian, and others are deeply rooted to the neighborhood. Activity is always buzzing here, where locals and visitors pound the sidewalks to choose from a range of shops carrying everything from porcelain, herbs, or chopsticks to fresh seafood, fruits and vegetables, or other Asian groceries. A plethora of restaurants in the 16-block neighborhood serve traditional Chinese fare, including the Silver Dragon Restaurant, the Golden Peacock Restaurant, and Legendary Palace.
Oakland Chinatown is conveniently located within minutes of Jack London Square, downtown Oakland, Lake Merritt, and Old Oakland. Banks, bakeries, schools, office buildings, and more can be found throughout the neighborhood. At its heart is the multi-story Pacific Renaissance Plaza, where you’ll find more locations to eat or shop, as well as the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.
Other points of interest include Chinatown’s Lincoln Park, where the after-school recreation program has served generations of Chinatown children. At nearby Madison Square Park, lessons in tai chi have taken place for free every morning for years, bringing in hundreds of members of the Chinatown community and visitors from nearby neighborhoods.
Chinatown Oakland stretches from 12th street to the edge of I-880, and from Broadway to the southern tip of Lake Merritt. It is one of the oldest Chinatowns in North America.
HelloOakland Tip: The Oakland Chinatown StreetFest with dancing, festivities, hundreds of vendor booths, and more, is an annual event drawing crowds of 100,000 people. In 2010, the StreetFest will take place at the end of August, from the 28th-29th.
Posted by Renee Rutledge
