Chinese American Portland: Things to See & Do

Chinatown

Portland's historic Old Town/Chinatown district is the symbolic heart of the earliest Chinese community in the greater Portland area. South of the Broadway Bridge and behind the Chinatown Gate this neighborhood is rich in history.

The district's streets are decorated with 57 ornamental street lights, painted red and gold to signify good luck and prosperity. The "Underground Portland" walking tour lets visitors explore the hidden history of the Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood. This tour includes a glimpse into the legendary "Shanghai Tunnels" hidden below the streets of Chinatown.

Today, relatively few Chinese businesses remain in Old Town/Chinatown, but the district is still home to most of the city's Chinese associations or tongs, Lan Su Chinese Garden and the Chinatown Gateway and hosts regular cultural events.

Chinatown Gateway
Northwest Fourth Avenue at Burnside Street

This gateway serves as an impressive opening to Portland's Chinatown. The Chinese characters "Four Seas, One Family" written on the upper part of the gate mean no matter where we came from we belong to one family. On either side of the gate are two lions, who act as guardians protecting Chinatown. The female lion on the right side and the male on the left signify the balance of yin and yang.

Lan Su Chinese Garden
Northwest Third Avenue and Everett Street

The Lan Su Chinese Garden is an authentically built Ming Dynasty style garden developed as a friendship project between Portland and its sister city of Suzhou, China. Sixty Chinese artisans spent months lending their talent and expertise to the elegant design of this walled garden, which occupies an entire city block in Portland's Old Town/Chinatown District. The final result: serpentine walkways, ponds, bridges, a tea house and a meticulous landscape of rock groupings, delicate trees, sculpted shrubs, lattice screens and pavilions.

Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA)
315 N.W. Davis St.

A Chinese-language school has operated continuously in this building since 1908. The museum on the fourth floor contains historic artifacts depicting the Chinese people's contribution to the development of the Pacific Northwest. The museum is open to the public on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

New Chinatown

Along with the continuous influx of Chinese immigrants, Portland's Chinese population has shifted to various locations around the area. Southeast Portland's "New Chinatown" is now home to most of the area's Chinese businesses. Here you can find all the authentic Chinese restaurants, grocery stores, food markets, bakeries, a Chinese social service center, an herbal store and more. Lots of new Chinese immigrants live around this area, where they can shop for groceries, see Chinese doctors, enjoy dim sum or chat with friends, all within walking distance. Spend a day in the area to experience the lifestyle of the local Chinese community.

Most of the businesses are located on Southeast Division Street and Powell Boulevard around 82nd Avenue, and on 82nd Avenue between these two streets.

Portland Art Museum
1219 S.W. Park Ave.

Six galleries exhibit Chinese, Korean and Japanese art from the museum's collection of nearly 4,000 Asian artworks. The Chinese collection spans the Neolithic to the modern periods, with strong representation in ceramics — primarily tomb objects — from the Han and Tang dynasties. Other holdings in Chinese art include furnishings and decorative arts.