Chinese Culture Center

North Beach & Chinatown


You can see all the way to China from the Hilton's 3rd floor inside this cultural center, which hosts exhibits ranging from showcases of contemporary Chinese ink-brush painters to installations of kung-fu punching bags studded with fighting words. In odd-numbered years, don't miss Present Tense Biennial, where 30-plus Bay Area artists present personal takes on Chinese culture. Visit the Center's satellite gallery at 41 Ross Alley for contemporary collaborations; for local historical perspectives, book the Center's Chinatown Heritage Walking Tours.

Check the online schedule for upcoming concerts, hands-on arts workshops for adults and children, Mandarin classes and genealogy services.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby North Beach & Chinatown attractions

1. Portsmouth Square

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Chinatown's unofficial living room is named after John B Montgomery's sloop, which staked the US claim on San Francisco in 1846. SF's first city hall…

2. Wentworth Place

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Dragons bring this shadowy brick byway roaring to life. The narrow entryway is illuminated with 'Dragon Boats Chasing Moonlight,' a new mosaic mural…

3. Chinese Telephone Exchange

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California's earliest high-tech adopters weren't 1970s Silicon Valley programmers – they were Chinatown switchboard operators c 1894. To connect callers,…

4. Commercial Street

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Back when the red lights of Commercial St could be seen from the waterfront, this strip provided many provocative answers to the age-old question: what do…

5. Columbus Tower

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If these copper-clad walls could talk, they'd name-drop shamelessly. The tower's original occupant was political boss Abe Ruef, ousted in 1907 and sent to…

6. Transamerica Pyramid & Redwood Park

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The defining feature of San Francisco's skyline is this 1972 pyramid, built atop a whaling ship abandoned in the gold rush. A half-acre redwood grove…

7. Waverly Place

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Grant Ave is Chinatown's economic heart, but its soul is Waverly Place, lined with flag-festooned, colorful temple balconies and family-run businesses…

8. Tin How Temple

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There was no place to go but up in Chinatown in the 19th century, when laws restricted where Chinese San Franciscans could live and work. Atop barber…