Hong Kong, USA

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Going to the Autumn Moon Festival in San Francisco’s Chinatown is probably about as close to Hong Kong as you can get without leaving the US. It is crowded, colorful, raucous, and there are lots of interesting things to eat. The main streets are closed to vehicle traffic, and vendors of all sorts set up booths in the street selling noodles, Chinese newspapers, and sweets. I wandered up Grant Street, the more touristy street, sampling noodles and trying not to get trampled.

Pacific Street crosses Grant, and at one end of Pacific there was a stage. In between dance numbers, a Chinese healer, with interpreters in two languages, claimed to cure any number maladies and injuries. At the other end of Pacific Street, a lady sang Chinese opera. She was very enthusiastic, but I can’t say she was very good. I also can’t say that I am a fan of Chinese opera.

However, the best, and to my mind the most important part, of the Moon Festival is moon cakes. You could tell the popular bakeries by the lines out the door that doubled back on themselves as people crowded to get this lovely pastry. Traditionally, moon cakes are round, about three inches across, and filled with either lotus paste or sweet red bean paste. I’d include a picture of one but I ate it. It was filled with lotus paste, and it was good.

Ming revolutionaries in the 14th century used mooncakes in their plot to overthrow the invader Mongolian rulers of China. One of the leaders of the revolution came up with the idea to spread a rumor that a deadly plague was proliferating, and that the only way to prevent it was to eat special mooncakes. These unique mooncakes would instantly revive and give extraordinary powers to the consumer. This prompted a run on mooncakes as everyone rushed to get their special powers. The mooncakes contained a secret message coordinating the Han Chinese revolt on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. The revolution was successful, the tradition continues to this day, and it is a sweet way to learn a bit of history.

San Francisco’s Chinatown is the largest Chinese community outside of Asia, and it is easy to immerse yourself in the culture. Once you move even a block off Grant Street, the main tourist avenue, most of the signs are in Chinese, and most of what you here spoken is Cantonese. You will find the Chinese apothecary where various roots and leaves can be prescribed for what ails you, and the smell of dried fish and shrimp fills the air.

In addition to the language, there are some distinctly Chinese touches here. Just about every shop has a statue of Guan Gong, sometime called Guan Yu. Guan Yu was a general who lived about 3,000 years ago, and is known for his honor, loyalty, and integrity. In some Asian communities people make contracts in front of a shrine of Guan Gong as a sign of their sincere intention to fulfill that contract. Shop owners display Guan Gong as a sign of their honest business dealings with customers. (You’ll have to decide for yourself if Lord Guan actually keeps people honest.)

There is a plethora of temples in Chinatown, and you may enter them if you are respectful and quiet. Most of them ask you not to take pictures. It is polite to leave a small donation, particularly if you light some incense.

One of the most interesting shrines in the area is the Tin How Temple on Waverly Place. This tiny temple is on the fourth floor of a Cantonese clan building, and is easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. Tin How translate as “Empress of Heaven” and is dedicated to Mazu, the guardian of the sea. (Any resemblance to Guan Yin is, I’m sure, purely coincidental.) Guan Gong makes his appearance here, too. Another interesting temple is the Jade Emperor Palace. Formerly the Korean Presbyterian Church, it is now a peaceful Taoist temple. There is a large ancestral hall, where people come to make offerings and burn incense in memory of their forebears.

There is a lot of history in San Francisco's Chinatown - more than I had time to explore. Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the Republic of China - also known as Taiwan - visited here, and Robert Louis Stevenson lived for a while on the edge of Chinatown.

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Photos

Chinese opera singer
Very enthusiastic, but I don't have an ear for Chinese opera.

Tin How Temple entrance
The temple is upstairs, past a music society and other offices.

green tea KitKat
I'll stick with chocolate, thank you.

Dragon Gate
located at the foot of Grant Street, it is considered the entrance to Chinatown.