The “Other” Chinatown

In contrast to the broken down, struggling Chinatown of Los Angeles, the original and oldest Chinatown in the US located in San Francisco is a hustling and bustling center of activity in the Bay Area. Established in the early 1850s as the earliest enclave of Chinese immigrants during the Gold Rush, San Francisco’s Chinatown remains today as one of the densest regions in the US, filled with historic cultural sites, amenities, and cuisine. Though the two Chinatowns had similar beginnings, they have had largely different developmental periods and current situations. This is the story of the first Chinatown in the US.

Just like any Chinatown in California, this Chinatown was founded as a result of Chinese immigration during the Gold Rush. Some came looking for gold, many others ended up working for railroad companies such as the Central Pacific, which hired thousands of Chinese laborers to work on the First Transcontinental Railroad. To assist future immigrants with adjusting to the culture shock, many associations and institutions were created to help newly arrived immigrants. These eventually conglomerated into the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, which helped people who were starving, protected Chinese members from racist attacks, organized trips to and from China, and returned the bodies of the dead back to their families in China.

Though the Chinese were initially received positively in small numbers, as they continued to immigrate to the US and increased competition in the labor market, hostility towards them grew tremendously. Mob attacks, massacres, and the eventual Chinese Exclusion Act only beat down an already downtrodden demographic. Though the Chinese were blamed for their cheap, slave-like labor that displaced American labor, the truth was that many Chinese immigrants were forced to work for low wages in harsh conditions. Common at the time was the practice of going into debt to middlemen who would transport Chinese immigrants into the US, with the hopes of being able to pay it off later after accruing enough money. On top of this, the main reason why so many immigrants came to the US was to find better hopes of economic prosperity compared to the dire conditions in China. As laborers made money, they kept sending portions of their income to their families in China, which strained their resources and incentivized them to work for even longer. This created immense job competition, even amongst newer generations of immigrants who had to do more for less in order to find jobs.

Racist abuse led to the formation of Tongs, which were essentially Chinese gangs. Though they engage in criminal activity today, they were originally founded as a means of protection against White hostility. However, these Tongs were also a double edged sword – although they did indeed defend their Chinese constituents from violence, they were criminal gangs at heart and used their power to abuse or exploit other Chinese immigrants. One notable act was the trafficking of Chinese women to San Francisco and other parts of the US for either marriage or prostitution, almost always against their will. The influence of Tongs was established through gambling dens, brothels, and opium houses that they used as sources of revenue. However, there were several different Tongs that fought for dominance and control of land, leading to the Tong Wars that lasted until 1921. To this day, the Tongs remain a criminal organization, though their significance has diminished significantly since the early days of Chinatown.

The discrimination held towards Chinese immigrants extended to the perceived dirtiness of the region and the Chinese people. This was best exemplified by the outbreak of the bubonic plague in Chinatown when a long time Chinese resident was found dead of the disease in 1900. As a result, Chinatown was quarantined with movement fully restricted for Asian residents – White and European Americans could still exit the city freely. San Francisco officials began to burn property and sanitize the region’s buildings, streets, and sewers despite protests from the local residents. Although the bubonic plague was discovered in 1900, the governor of California worked to cover it up in order to prevent a loss of revenue due to a potential quarantine. Attempts to vaccinate the population were shady at best, as medical officials recommended using a new vaccine that has never been tested on humans before. The side effects were never discussed, and the vaccine program was eventually shut down due to opposition from the community. Four years later, the plague was eventually stopped due to new policies enacted by a newly elected governor, but not without claiming the lives of 119 people. The inaction, mistreatment, and lack of care is a pattern of behavior that residents of Chinatown have experienced for over a century since its inception.

Just after suffering from a plague, Chinatown, and the rest of San Francisco, was struck by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in 1906 – widely considered to be one of the deadliest earthquakes in US history. Chinatown was hit especially hard, destroying many of the Chinese owned and operated businesses and forcing thousands of residents to relocate. The aftermath of the earthquake was especially harsh for the Chinese – the land that Chinatown sat on was valuable as a site of commercial development, but city officials could do nothing about it with thousands of Chinese residents there. Following the earthquake, many Chinese left for Oakland, allowing officials to move into the city. Even though there was a military presence in Chinatown, looting occurred even by members of the National Guard. Chinese refugees were moved to segregated camps, where they were eventually led to a remote corner of the San Francisco Presidio in an attempt to relocate Chinatown. The effort eventually failed, as city officials realized that they would lose tax revenue and trade, eventually allowing the Chinese to return and rebuild.

With the removal of the Chinese Exclusion Act and migrant quotas, Chinatown began to increase its population once more. This growth is one of the key differences between San Francisco’s Chinatown and Los Angeles’ Chinatown; although both Chinatowns faced increasing suburbanization from recent Asian immigrants, San Francisco’s Chinatown continued to retain its significance due to its geographical location within the city of San Francisco. Located right next to the financial district, the region serves an important role in San Francisco’s downtown, providing places for cheap rent and easy access to the central business district.

San Francisco’s Chinatown has had a miserable history, but its modern day prospects are not as bright as it once was. Although it doesn’t face the same levels of poverty and dilapidation as LA, the median income is far below the citywide average, with almost 30% of residents below the national poverty threshold. Chinatown is rather struggling, more so due to macroeconomic factors affecting the whole of the Bay Area, but there have been plans to bring back life to the historic region. For now, tourists can explore the numerous cultural attractions, authentic Asian restaurants, and visit the Chinese Culture Center in the oldest American Chinatown.

(Photo Credit: Christian Mehlführer licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)