Chinatown Honolulu, Hawaii

One of the more ethnically and culturally diverse neighborhoods in cosmopolitan Honolulu is Chinatown, a microcosm of today’s Honolulu. It provides a real cross-cultural experience with influences from its Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese and Hawaiian residents.

Next to central downtown Honolulu on Oahu, Chinatown is a 15-square block area bound by Nu`uanu Stream and River Street on the north, Bethel Street south, and by Beretania and King Streets east and west. It’s a compact area filled with much to explore and discover on your Honolulu vacation.

Chinatown History

In 1852, the Chinese were the first immigrant laborers to arrive in Hawaii to work on the growing sugar cane plantations. Completing their labor contracts, many relocated to the Chinatown area of Honolulu to enter the business world. With its exotic mix of cultures and peoples, Chinatown gained a disreputable name over time as an undesirable slum area known for its saloons, debauchery, drugs and dens of ill repute.

Disaster struck Chinatown on January 20, 1900. In an effort to control an outbreak of the bubonic plague, the Board of Health and Fire Department attempted to do a controlled burn of rat-infested buildings. However, the fires quickly got out of control and many buildings were soon engulfed by flames. The Great Chinatown Fire burned for 17 days, destroying 38 acres of property and leaving 4,000 residents homeless. Somewhat ironically, the Board of Health declared the area plague-free four months later.

Today, Chinatown’s former reputation for debauchery and worse has been toned down considerably. While there are still a couple of seedy taverns and bars along Hotel Street that are probably best avoided, Chinatown is a lively and colorful community to explore.

 

• Women at a lei stand in Chinatown string flowers to make beautiful leis for customers.

Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Tor Johnson

Chinatown Makeover and Attractions

In recent years, Chinatown has initiated a community makeover. Buildings have been renovated to meet historical codes in structure and appearance, giving Chinatown an old-yet-new look. Now much cleaner and more appealing, Chinatown retains its cultural essence with its Chinese herbal medicine shops, dim sum and noodle restaurants, manapua (meat-filled steamed dumplings) shops, art galleries, and the hustle and bustle of its open-air markets and vendor stalls.

Discovering Chinatown

Today’s Chinatown is a fun place to stroll through, where you can enjoy a market visit, eat some great dim sum and noodles, or just take in the cross-cultural diversity of Honolulu’s most colorful and historic neighborhood.

For Chinatown Honolulu shopping, colorful open-air markets include the Oahu Market (established in 1904) at the corner of King and Kekaulike Street, the Kekaulike Market on the Kekaulike Street Mall between King and Hotel streets and Mauna Kea Marketplace on Mauna Kea Street between Hotel and Pauahi streets.

At the markets, you’ll find fresh fish and seafood shops, butcher shops with racks of roast char siu pork, chicken and duck, plus produce tables piled high with colorful fresh exotic vegetables, fruits and produce of all kinds. The markets make for an interesting shopping adventure!

 

• Stop by one of Chinatown’s many herbal medicine shops.

Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Tor Johnson

Be sure to visit one of Chinatown’s cultural icons—the Chinese herbal medicine shops. Among the colorful and somewhat mysterious shops are Tak Wah Tong (100 N. Beretania) in the Chinese Cultural Plaza, Fook Sau Tong (112 N. King St.) and Chee Wo Tong (1033 Maunakea St.). Many of these shops have more than 1,000 kinds of dried plants, bark, roots, leaves, twigs, flowers, mushrooms and fungi, and other mysterious plant and animal products on its shelves, all used to treat various ailments and illnesses.

Small Chinese bakeries, food stores, general stores, Asian import stores, flower and lei shops, art and antique galleries and more round out Chinatown. It all makes for an exciting and colorful self-guided exploration of this cosmopolitan neighborhood of Honolulu.

Next: Recommended Chinatown Restaurants