Skip to main content

About

The Hidden Chinatown of San Francisco provides short and interesting facts (and dispel factoids) that you can read in a few minutes, similar to what may be recited by a tour guide taking you through the San Francisco Chinatown but properly researched with links. 

This is an amateur effort, so while every attempt at accuracy and proper attribution were made there are sometimes when I miss the mark. 

If you have any comments on the factual accuracy, difference of opinion, more links to add, or just general feedback, please use the comment function at the bottom of most pages. 

Comments

Post a Comment

About the author

Kasey is a professional tour guide and amateur historian who specialized in Chinatown History and Tours. You will often find him guiding groups sampling delicious food and learning interesting historical tidbits about Chinatown most weekends.

Popular posts from this blog

Look Tin Eli: The Revitalizer of Chinatown After 1906 Earthquake and Fire

Look Tin Eli is not a popular name unless you study Chinese-American history. Yet arguably, his greatest contribution was how he became the chief negotiator for the rebuilding of Chinatown after the 1906 Earthquake and fire, and can be considered the father of all modern Chinatowns.  Early Life Look Tin Eli (aka Look Tin Sing) was born in Mendocino, California, in 1870 to Luk Bing-Tai (known locally as Eli Tia Key) and Su Wong. Luk the elder originally worked as a cook for the local magnate upon arrival, but was able to raise enough money to open a general store in town. Luk the elder's bride is actually Native American, but raised by a Chinese American family. The couple had four children: 3 sons and 1 daughter including Look Tin Eli. The elder Luk decided that all of his sons needed a proper Chinese education, so he sent each of his sons back to China at the age of 9. Look Tin Eli left in 1879. The decision was likely based on the fact that back then Chinese Americans are not all...
Post a Comment
Read more

Origin of Chinese Laundry: How Chinese-Americans Turned Discrimination Into Opportunity

One of the oddities during the Gold Rush years of San Francisco was the extreme imbalance between males and females. It is believed the ratio was like 20 to 1. And remember, back in the 1800s, men do NOT do laundry... It was supposed to be women's work or domestic servant's work. Most men don't even know how to do laundry. Not to mention two buckets of fresh water would cost a quarter. This resulted in some very odd pricing, such as the cost of laundering a dozen shirts being $8-12 dollars, due to very few women available to do the laundry. A few men will try, but give up after a while after they either destroyed the shirts or lost all the buttons. The situation was bad enough, laundry was sent across the ocean to be laundered. A ship can carry back several hundred dozen pieces of laundry .  Hawaii, seeing an opportunity, started to offer $6 per dozen washes and a much faster turnaround.    Some folks in Chinatown recognized the profit potential, being close to the p...
Post a Comment
Read more

So What Exactly Are the Tongs of Chinatown?

The Tongs of Chinatown started off as an attempt to do good, but ended up corrupted by greed and turned into a term of evil. But what are they really?  Tong 堂 literally means the main room or a hall. It could be termed an "association", and they still exist today in San Francisco Chinatown.  Hop Sing Tong, or 合勝縂堂 (lit: united victory main hall) photo courtesy of Wikipedia / Wikicommons The Tongs started as immigrant associations serving people with common former residency, common dialect, or common ancestry. The tongs will help people fresh off the boast to adapt to the new culture. If you can find a tong that is affiliated with your village or your clan or speak your dialect, you will be welcomed. You will be given a bed for the night, then help to find a job, and find proper housing.  The tongs also offered both physical and legal protection. By 1854, the Chinese have been ruled to have no right to participate in the court system . In People vs. Hall, a Chinese witnes...
2 comments
Read more