Last week I mentioned that I had been working on some photographs from our 2014 West Coast vacation. We hit a lot of places on that trip and one of those was a visit to the Chinatown District in Los Angeles, California. I always tell everyone that I see more of California now when we visit family on vacation than I did when I lived there! This was my first visit to Chinatown.
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Keith’s sister Janice thought this would be a neat place to go for a day trip. She knew it would be a great place for me to take pictures and for us to explore. It was June, so we decided to head down early in the morning to avoid the heat.
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None of us had really ever been before, so we did not know what to expect. We really didn’t know anything about Chinatown, except what we had seen in the movies. And, we also didn’t realize how Hollywood really can do a makeover on a location to make it look different from the way it really is.
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New Chinatown as it is called is really a neighborhood outside of Downtown LA that was moved from its original location to where it is now when Union Station was built in 1938. So, while it is old, it is not as old as some Chinatown Districts, like the one in San Francisco. And since it was built in the late thirties and early forties, it reflects a lot of that era with its décor and theme.
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We came in a back way to the district and totally missed the main entrance on North Broadway. Your can barely see the golden dragons arching over the road a few streetlights down from Central Plaza, where we mainly visited.
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They kind of stand out a little better in this shot looking to Downtown LA. It was several blocks down from where we were and we were with Keith’s parents and were not prepared to walk that far.
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But we did get to see one of the more iconic signs that was the entrance to Central Plaza. And you can see here what I mean about style. There is neon everywhere. Which at the time this area was built was probably a big novelty. And at night, I bet this place really is something to see. But even though nothing was lit up while we were there, everything was still bright and colorful.
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And there was some fixing up that needed to happen here and there. The sign could have used some paint in a few places. It probably had been a while since Hollywood came in and glammed everything up. Of course, that is just an assumption on my part. Really, most everything was in good condition and still very much what you would expect to see in a tourist spot. We just all seemed to remember how this area has been portrayed on film and it was a little different from what we expected.
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And on the opposite side of the Plaza was another gate behind the statue of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen.
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This gate had quite a bit more wear and tear.
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You can just imagine what this looked like all lit up at night!
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One thing I really loved were all the red paper lanterns everywhere. They really added a pop of bright color.
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And it was hard to compete and stand out with all the colorful buildings and the interesting architecture.
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Another thing we didn’t know about Chinatown was that many of the shops were not open early on Saturday mornings. Many were closed, like this one.
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There were a few, like the Fortune Teller, but we were not going to have our fortunes read that day.
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I really loved how colorful everything was. And the architecture was fun to photograph. But again, I wonder how this place looks at night with all that neon lit up? I bet in the summer it made it even hotter since there was so much to turn on.
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There were lots of restaurants, too, but they were all closed.
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Hop Louie is supposed to be a famous one. I liked the building.
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This building used to be a restaurant but now is a boutique. Just look at that hot pink color! That’s my kind of pink!
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I guess one good thing about being there while most things were closed was the opportunity to not have too many people show up in your photos.
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The gift shops here really did sell everything made in China. This one did finally open up while we were there.
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I was able to get some nice blue tiger eye gemstone beads. And we bought a few other little trinkets.
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There were also quite a few Benevolent Associations, like the Hop Sing Tong here.
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These associations were started when Chinese first immigrated to our country during the Gold Rush. They are fraternal organizations that provided community and protection for the immigrants.
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You can still find them in Chinatown Districts all over the world. They still provide community brotherhood and outreach today.
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All of the ones I saw had beautiful red doors, too. Not sure if that meant anything or not or if it was just a coincidence.
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There was a monument with a statue of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen. He is known as the Founding Father of modern China.
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He is also known for his three principles of the people: Nationalism, Democracy and the People’s Livelihood.
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His monument was in the center of the plaza. There were a lot of benches – plenty of places to sit and soak it all in.
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And we found another statue that was a little more interesting to us.
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It was a statue of Bruce Lee. It was more recently placed here, I think I read somewhere it was dedicated in 2013. And by the sign on the fencing, it appears at the time we were there they were still raising funds to support the statue.
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It was very tall, larger than life.
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But very well done. I never knew he was actually born in America. He was born in San Francisco but raised in Hong Kong according to what I have come across online.
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And we also came across an area where men were playing some type of game. At first I thought it was Checkers, but when I looked at the photo on the computer, it looks like something else. These gentlemen were heavily engrossed in what they were doing.
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There was also a small garden area with a wishing well. There was shade there so Keith’s parents sat there while we were exploring.
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It was surrounded by a fenced wall made with brick or stone and some pretty ornate wrought iron on top. I bet those pointy tops kept people from sitting on top of the walls.
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There was also a Buddha statue hidden in the middle. It was a really peaceful place. We did walk down the street a bit and found the Farmer’s Market area and more shops. That is where all the people were that morning. It was very crowded and dark in a little alley like space. Keith’s Mom bought a hat from one of the vendors. They had a lot more of the trinket like knick knacks that we had seen in the other gift shops back in Central Plaza. It was starting to get warmer, so we decided we had better head back.
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On the way back we came across a pair of Fu Dogs, or Chinese Guardian Lions. They are not really dogs at all. These have been placed at the entrances of the homes of the wealthy, important government buildings and palaces for centuries in China and they have a neat story. First, they are always a pair, a male and a female.
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The male, like this one here, is to the right as you enter the building and always has an embroidered ball that he guards, showing his power and authority.
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The female, shown here, always has a pup that she is nurturing. You can see the pup better in the first picture above. The statues are always very ornate and also symbolize Yin and Yang. The female guards the inhabitants inside and the male guards the structure. I thought the statues were really beautiful and I loved the story behind them. I have seen them many times before and now knowing the true meaning, I will be on the lookout for the male and female differences when I come across them again.
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Although our visit to Chinatown did not turn out exactly the way we had planned, we did see a lot of interesting architecture and learned a little more about the District. I was able to get a few neat pictures and we bought a few neat trinkets. I think maybe it might be fun to visit at night to see what it looks like all lit up. And it might be interesting to eat at one of the restaurants or even get a Famous Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake from Phoenix Bakery! But it was time to head back to the Valley. We were thankful Janice suggested this little trip. It was fun seeing a different community in Keith’s home town!
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