Description

Walk with Chinatown native Norman Fong to see how centuries of traditions have evolved in America’s largest Chinese community.

Starting Location

651 California St

Duration

1 hour, 10 minutes

Map Image

Description

Stroll through Chinatown's lantern-lined streets and you'll taste delicious dim sum and freshly made fortune cookies. But to get a taste for the real Chinatown, you have to venture through its back alleys with someone who grew up here. On this Detour, Chinatown native Norman Fong will lead you out of the tourist traps and into the family businesses, ghost stories, and histories of segregation and assimilation that have made this neighborhood the largest and most vibrant Chinese community outside of China.

Along the way, Norman will take you into a Chinese-run mom-and-pop grocery to give you tips on how to cook on the cheap with the neighborhood's plentiful ingredients. You'll visit a glowing, incense-filled, sancuary and have your fortune told. You'll visit the alley where notable Chinatown gangster Shrimp Boy once had his headquarters, and hear about Norman's youthful run-ins with Chinatown gangs too. You'll go to a neighborhood hotel that stands for solidarity and see that laundry lines tell stories.

As a kid growing up in Chinatown, Norman wrestled with his identity and the pressure to reject his Chinese-American heritage. On this Detour, he'll show you all the things that make him embrace it today.

This Detour was produced in collaboration with KQED, public media for the Bay Area. Proceeds go to support KQED programming.

Tips & Hours

• This Detour is best between 9:30 am - 3:30 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays when all of the businesses along the route are open, but can be taken anytime, any day. Most of the stops are open until 6pm.
• Note Spofford Alley is temporarily under construction until Nov. 2017 but is still fully accessible for that portion of the tour.
• Come hungry. Chinatown is known for its food.
• Bring some cash for a donation at the Tin How Temple, a Chinese coffee and bun, and any purchases at the Chinese herb shop or any of the other myriad of Chinatown stores along the way.

Credits

Narrator

Norman Fong

Head of Content

Heather Schuster

Producer

Rachel Dornhelm

Producing Partner

KQED

Editors

Julia McEvoy, Luisa Beck

Sound Design

Julian Kwasneski

Music and Sound Direction

Chris Hoff

Featured Music

Shanghai Restoration Project, Tommy Guerrero, Tin Hat

Featured Voices

Peter Yamamoto

Image Credits

Cover photo, Brian Frank Navigation photos, Rachel Dornhelm

Archival audio

"The Fall of the I Hotel," courtesy of Curtis Choy and Chonk Moonhunter films; Glenn Hayashi; Third World News Bureau

Special Thanks

Betty Louie, Chinese Historical Society of America, Sue Lee, Superior Trading Company, Amy Chung, Curtis Choy and Chonk Moonhunter Films, Cameron House, Eugenie Chan, Chinatown YMCA, I Hotel, James Chan, Shanghai Restoration Project, Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, Tin How Temple, Rick Evans

Podcast Episode Contributing Volunteers

Kris L.

Starting Locations of All Detours

View Starting Locations Map