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Celebrated for over 5,000 years, the San Francisco version of the Chinese New Year dates back to the Gold Rush Days. The parade is colorful, vibrant and loud, with decorative costumes, lions, deafening firecrackers, "lucky-money" envelopes, colorful banners, over 100 ornately themed floats, martial arts groups, stilt walkers, acrobats, and of course a 200 foot Golden Dragon that has a six foot-long head.
The San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade is an annual event in San Francisco, California, United States. Held for approximately two weeks following the first day of the Chinese New Year, it combines elements of the Chinese Lantern Festival with a typical American parade. First held in 1851, along what are today Grant Avenue and Kearny Street, it is the oldest and one of the largest events of its kind outside of Asia, and one of the largest Asian cultural events in North America. The parade route begins on Market Street and terminates in Chinatown.
Opened in 1962, this tiny factory produces more than 20,000 fortune cookies a day. The factory is in a small alley and it is tiny with only 3 people making fortune cookies. Tourists are welcome to walk in off the street — you get a flat (un-bended) fortune cookie sample but photos cost 50 cents and the moment you walk in they are asking you in their broken English what cookies you want to buy. It is a must see though!
Co-founded by Beat poet Lawrence Ferlenghetti, City Lights was one of the centers of the Beat community in the 1950s. It's iconic and has become synonymous with the literati Beat movement. Oh, don't forget to check out the books: they have a huge collection of Beat prose and poetry. Why not buy a copy of On the Road while you're there — you won't find a better place to get it!
This tiny paved pedestrian alley was named after the famous Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac who used to hang out in the alley a lot. It was intended to form a literary (and actual) connection between the communities of Chinatown and North Beach. There are plaques embedded into the street which are engraved with Chinese and Western poems from Kerouac, Confucius and John Steinbeck among others. The alley continues across Columbus to become William Saroyan Alley, named after another famous writer who lived in the city, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and an Academy Award.
The Filbert Steps are the part of Filbert Street that runs between Battery Street and Telegraph Hill Boulevard in North Beach. The steps end next to Coit Tower, and offer a scenic — though somewhat strenuous — route for visitors of the tower. In fact, following the steps is at times faster than driving to Coit Tower due to the high demand for relatively few parking spots near the site. Visitors of the steps will see public gardens, stylish homes and views of North Beach and the bay; if a path is not gated or specifically signed with "No Trespassing," then it is most likely public. Also, it pays to be adventurous: some of the best gardens and views are off the stairs. Finally, there is more than one way up and down; if you make a round trip you should find a new route for the return leg. Just avoid private property.
The center was established in order to promote understanding of Chinese and Chinese American history, art, and culture in the US. They have a small gallery with changing Chinese art exhibitions.
This is well worth a visit, with exhibits on the history and experience of Chinese immigrants to San Francisco over the past 150 years.