Driving in San Francisco, CA Part 3

---

Grant Avenue

Going downhill towards the Piers, California Street crosses Grant Avenue; the main street of the second largest Chinatown in the US after the New York Chinatown. The red head and yellow body dragon dances wildly to the drum beat. Firecrackers pop and produce the burst of a hundred machine guns. The Chinese buildings in this neighborhood feature red columns, green tile roofs, and golden Chinese signs. The firecracker scents fill the air. Not far behind the dragon and the drummers, alluring dancers dressed in very vibrant and colorful sensual silky dresses perform acrobatic syncopation.

Ninjas in black and whites carry out gravity defying mortal combat moves. Red lanterns are hung from wires stretching a few Chinatown city blocks. Some juggler play with fiery swords while the others on stilts perform mind-boggling back flips. Crowds are standing shoulder to shoulder on the sidewalks cheering and clapping. That’s always the image that comes to my mind when I visit a Chinatown. And I keep thinking that I would see “Rush Hour” Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker ransacking the festival for some scared-face, shifty eyes bad guys in black Armani suits and Ray Ban sunglasses.

Occasionally, the scene above takes place in San Francisco Chinatown. But today, as I gently press the accelerator when the traffic lights on Grant Ave and Clay Street turns green, I only see tourists with their digital cameras strolling and shopping for cheap “I escaped from Alcatraz” T-shirts, “I Love SF” fleece jackets, Golden Gate key chains, Cable car coffee mugs, and California license plate refrigerator magnets. And once in a while, some tourists buy the terra-cotta warriors of Xian uniforms. The chirping of fake crickets in boxes fills the dim-sum fragrant air. Barbequed poultries, chopped pig ribs, and offal delicacies adorn many restaurant windows...@driving-vacation

More pictures...

---