1/30/09

Chinatown

I intended to take a walk around Russian Hill today, but I bogged down in Chinatown. Here are some pictures. Despite being very touristy, Chinatown is a functioning community for the people who live here. There are churches, schools, banks and a Chinese hospital in addition to all the restaurants, bars, and myriad of discount importers.

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Loose tea for sale:

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San Francisco has some great vintage signery.

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Unfortunately, I'm never here at night to photograph them turned on.

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Kites

Certain citrus fruits have symbolic associations with the Chinese New Year:
"Tangerines, Oranges, Pomelos: Tangerines and oranges are frequently displayed in homes and stores. Tangerines are symbolic of good luck, and oranges are symbolic of wealth. These symbols have developed through a language pun, the word for tangerine having the same sound as 'luck' in Chinese, and the word for orange having the same sound as 'wealth'. Pomelos are large pear-shaped grapefruits."
Kung hei fat choi

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Tea bar:

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Regular bar. Li Po is something of an institution.

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Don't worry--Chinatown has souvenirs for gardeners too. The best kind.

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I did not buy any, but I was tempted.

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What do you think these are?

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Meanwhile, California is on sale for only $3.99. Still too much?

Heh.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you eat or drink anything there?

--JvA, not logged in

chuck b. said...

I did not. I thought about stopping in North Beach for a plate of food or a coffee...but you know when you've been out walking around and sweating and stuff and your face feels dirty? I decided to go home and take a shower.

Les said...

Thanks for another nice tour. I particularly like the bold illustrations on the seed packets. They remind me of the art work on those giant propaganda posters that were once seen on Beijing buildings, but now only seen in Pyongyang.

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

Wow thanks for another wonderful tour. I really enjoyed it(-: It is strange to see the cooked birds hanging up that way. It doesn't do much for my appetite(-: The seeds looked fun though(-: Have a great weekend!!!(-:

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Just as I remeber it, sans the cool seed packets. And Obama Ts!

Anonymous said...

Those seed packets in brown paper read: Green beans, peas, carrots, radishes and lettuce to name a few. Love these colorful pictures. The wind chimes are so sensory overload!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Another great tour. Love how colorful it all is.

chuck b. said...

Thank you, Layanee!!

ArtSparker said...

Wonderful photographs. I particularly like the one of the man beside the yellow sign, and the signs in general (graphics background). Tempts me to make a journey across the bay...You as if you could buy just about anything in Chinatown.

lisa said...

Wow, it was really cool to see Chinatown in the daytime! I've only seen it portrayed on cop shows at night as a "dangerous" place...especially on "The Streets of San Francisco" (Of course! :)

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for these wonderful photos of Chinatown. I loved Chinatown when I was growing up and miss it so much.

I really appreciate all the gorgeous San Francisco photos.