Chinatown Los Angeles California

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Los Angeles Chinatown district is 16 square blocks of family-owned shops, ethnic restaurants and art galleries. The main street in Chinatown is Broadway. The Chinese settled this area during the mid 1850s and a small population still calls Chinatown home. Several Hollywood movies and television shows have been filmed here including Lethal Weapon 4, Rush Hour, and Chinatown. Old Chinatown Plaza dates back to 1938 and here you will find anything from trinkets to fine art and jade jewelry. Give yourself an afternoon to wander in and out of the maze of shops and plazas. Everyone is friendly and chinatown has a great atmosphere. Have lunch at one of the many restaurants or pick up a snack at the local bakery. Make a wish at the pond and your dream might come true. Chinatown is served by Metro Rail Gold Line and is just one stop from Union Station. Los Angeles Chinatown is a fascinating place to roam around and makes a great Los Angeles day trip. Park your car and take a walking tour of Chinatown, this is the only way to really appreciate what a unique place this is. One of the must see sights is Old Chinatown Plaza with its old style Chinese buildings. If you don't mind bartering head into one of the shopping bazaars that branch off Broadway and see what kind of deal you can come up with.

The main entrance to the Los Angeles Chinatown is marked by the golden dragon gateway spanning Broadway. The district's boundaries are Bernard Street to the north, Cesar Chavez Avenue to the south, North Main Street to the east, Yale Street to the west. There are plenty of parking lots in Chinatown. Parking costs only four or five dollars for the whole day. There is also free parking with validation and metered street parking. Directions: From Orange County take the 5 Freeway north or the 710 north, to the 101 north and exit at Alameda or Grand. Follow signs to Chinatown. From Hollywood or the San Fernando Valley Take the 101 Freeway south. Exit at Broadway and turn left. Drive a few blocks north past Cesar Chavez to Chinatown. There is too much to see so don't settle for driving through, get out of the car and take a walking tour. Other area attractions include Olvera Street the birth place of Los Angeles and Little Tokyo. Olvera Street is within walking distance away and Little Tokyo is about a mile drive down Alameda Street.

The first Chinatown, centered around Union Station, and was established around 1880. Residents were evicted to make room for Union Station. They them move to the present location which is only a few blocks from the station. Chinatown offers barbecue delicatessens - with glass displays of roast duck and suckling pig plus and Cantonese seafood restaurants with dim sum. The movie Rush Hour, starring Jackie Chan, was filmed on location in the Los Angeles Chinatown. Dynasty Center, Saigon Plaza, and the Chinatown Phuoc Loc Tho Center feature many Vietnamese-style bazaars with people engaged in bargain shopping for items such as clothing, toys, Chinese-language CDs, pets, household items and just about anything else. Most entrepreneurs are ethnic Chinese from Vietnam.