Chinatown

By Kevin

Do you know Chinatown was a port for the entry of the Taishanese before the Chinese immigrants came? The earliest Chinese immigrants to come to San Francisco were mostly men and from a small city in China called Taishan. The San Francisco city government allowed the Chinese immigrants to live here in this area of the city.

The 4th grade class visited Chinatown. I interviewed Tyler from 4th grade and I asked him 6 questions about Chinatown. Here is the interview:

Q. Do you go to Chinatown often?
A. No

Q. Did going to Chinatown help you understand the Chinese culture better?
A. Yes.

Q. What's your favorite place in Chinatown?
A. The Jade Temple.

Q. Did you buy anything in Chinatown that you can't buy here?
A. Egg rolls.

Q. Did you see any candy that you haven't seen here?
A. Not really.

Q. Did you like the trip we took to Chinatown?
A. Yes, very much.

Then he asked me a question. His question was, why did you choose to interview me? I said, because you are a good person to interview Tyler. Ok, I am done interviewing. Now let's get back to the story.

Chinatown is located in downtown San Francisco. It is within an area of about 1 mile long by 1.34 miles wide.

Many of the Chinese people worked as shopkeepers, restaurant owners and found jobs working for large companies and were paid little money. Many worked for and built the Central Pacific Rail Road. Also many worked in the gold mines in the 1849 Gold Rush. San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese community outside of Asia. Chinatown has more people come visit then the Golden Gate Bridge.