Oakland’s Chinatown or the “other Chinatown” may lack the glitz and glamour that its cousin across the bridge has, but it has its own awfully rich history.
What Oakland’s Chinatown lacks in sidewalk gift stores, it makes up for with community centers and churches.
“It’s not a tourist attraction,” said Darlene Lee, recreation leader at the Lincoln Square Recreation Center. “It’s more like a neighborhood, a lot of people don’t even know there’s a Chinatown in Oakland.”
But don’t get discouraged. There are still a few sidewalk gift stores lining 8th street, which are joined by many open-air markets on 10th Street that encircle the heart of Chinatown, the Pacific Renaissance Plaza.
The plaza houses the Oakland Asian Cultural Center and a branch of the Oakland Public Library along with many modern commercial shops.
Across the street stands the oldest establishment in Chinatown, the Silver Dragon restaurant, owned by the Chee family for 55 years.
Unfortunately Silver Dragon will be closing its doors for good on February 1 and be turned into an Asian health center, said Lester Chee, who owns the restaurant with his brother Wesley.
Regrettably this is a trend in Chinatown recently. Family-owned older establishments are disappearing around the neighborhood thanks, in part, to the economy.
But what has been more devastating has been the conversion of Chinatown from a family neighborhood to a commuter one.
“Chinatown is not doing very well,” Lee said. “It used to be that you lived and worked here, but now all the business comes from weekenders. It has shrunk Chinatown a lot.”
This can be seen just from walking Chinatown’s streets.
Aside from a handful of people, everyone walks with a purpose. They know exactly where they are going and why they are going there and have no time for distractions.
But this isn’t to say that there is no sense of community here. You can’t go five seconds without two people saying hi to each other on the street or receiving a Cheers-like welcome when entering a restaurant.
This is not more evident than at the Lincoln Recreation Center. Between the basketball coach teaching a group of 20 in the gym or the playground packed to the brim, this is the definition of community.
Though the language barrier may create a few hurdles to jump over, this is the type of neighborhood I am excited to continually visit.
I look forward to observing and eventually becoming a part of this tight-knit community.
The adventures in Chinatown start now.
Chinatown Take-Out 