7 Super Fun Things to do in San Francisco’s Chinatown with Kids
We’ve spent a lot of time in San Francisco as a family over the years as my husband grew up not too far from the city. We’ve visited super fun SF playgrounds and biked the Golden Gate Bridge (which was one of our favorite things we’ve done as a family).
On our most recent visit, we spent a few hours in San Francisco’s Chinatown with the kids. It was so much fun! I thought it might feel a little fake or tacky, but it was quite the opposite. I felt like we had stepped into another world and were getting an international experience while still being in the States.
Chinese immigrants began to arrive in California/San Francisco in large waves at the height of the California Gold Rush (mid-1800s) and for various other reasons since then.
It was quite amazing to see the large community that has been created in San Francisco to cater to the vast amount of Chinese/Asian residents.
I think I extra appreciated seeing this unique Asian area nestled within a US city since I currently live outside of the US and it’s meaningful to me to find things in English or reminiscent of home just as I’m sure it is meaningful to the people who live here.
If you’re wondering what the best things to do in San Francisco Chinatown with kids are, this post is here to answer that for you!
You may be surprised that Chinatown in San Francisco as a family can be quite fun and a great stop to add to your San Francisco family itinerary.
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Map of Things Do With Kids in San Francisco’s Chinatown
*Use this interactive map to see the best things to do in San Francisco’s Chinatown as a family. Click on the full-screen icon in the top right corner to have this map open in your own Google Maps app or click on the arrow in the top left corner to see a pullout list of all points on the map*
7 Perfect Things to Do in Chinatown in San Francisco for Families
1. Play at Willie ‘Woo Woo’ Wong Playground
No matter where we travel with kids we always try to find the closest playground. And the great thing about Chinatown in San Francisco is that there is an amazing playground right in the heart of it!
Willie ‘Woo Woo’ Wong Playground is a large, clean, safe, and fun playground that can’t be missed.
It’s quite astonishing that so much space has been carved out within Chinatown for such a great playground considering how densely populated the area is.
The playground design is inspired by Chinese mythology and features play equipment for both older and younger kids (it’ll keep the entire family happy!).
There is a large wooden structure with interesting climbing and playing areas and a large tube slide. There is also a large metal slide built into a hill with climbing holds to reach the top of the slide.
The ground has small hills built into it which is perfect for young tots to play plus there is a toddler-sized play structure with stairs and a slide etc that I don’t happen to have photos of.
And there are large, colorful Chinese-inspired wooden sculptures perfect for hide and seek and climbing and other sorts of play.
Willie ‘Woo Woo’ Wong playground was our first stop on our San Francisco Chinatown with kids itinerary and we all loved it. We chose to make it our first stop since we knew the kids would for sure be excited about it and we wanted to start the day off on a high note.
Turns out they were also really excited about the Fortune Cookie Factory and a ride on the cable car so we probably could have gone to the playground at any point in our itinerary and it would have worked just fine.
Something nice is that the playground is located in such a central location that everything on this list is only about a 5-minute walk away (talk about easy).
2. Make your Own Fortune Cookie at a Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory
If you didn’t know, fortune cookies actually originated in the US and were popularized in California (not in China -surprise!). However, to us Americans, fortune cookies are synonymous with Chinese food and in Chinatown you can visit a small, working fortune cookie factory!
Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory has been in operation since 1962 and they can make up to 10,000 cookies per day! It’s quite astonishing how many cookies they pump out each day once you realize how small of an operation it is.
The entrance to the fortune cookie factory is located down a small, cute alley called Ross Alley. Once you step inside, you see that it’s one long room that fits only 2-3 rotating griddles with an employee at each hand-folding every cookie.
There is only room for a few people inside at a time. On the left side on a little shelf is an area where you can write your own fortunes on a piece of paper that the worker puts inside a cookie for you. It costs a small amount to personalize your fortune but it was fun!
You can also purchase bags of cookies including cookies with unique flavors.
3. Catch a Ride on the Cable Car @ the Chinatown Stop
One great thing about Chinatown is that there is a Chinatown Cable Car stop! It’s so much easier to hop on a cable car on route than at one of the end-of-the-line stops like by Ghiradelli’s Square (there’s always a MASSIVE queue!).
The cable cars in San Francisco are the LAST manually operated cable cars in the world! The cars are connected to large cables embedded in the street and pulled up and down the huge hills of the city.
One of the ‘cablemen’ pulls a massive handle connected to the cables to allow the car to stop or go plus they ring the cable car bell coming up each intersection. It’s quite a unique experience!
We took the California Line from the California & Powell Street stop. It’s only a 5-minute walk from the playground I mentioned above! If you ride the cable car down the hill, the last stop is the Ferry Building which is a great place to get food and walk around.
The Ferry Building used to be a hub for travelers arriving via ferry to San Francisco, however now it is a market featuring all kinds of local shops, cafes, and restaurants. It’s one of San Francisco’s most iconic spots.
You can purchase your tickets for the cable cars ahead of time on the MuniMobile App or pay the $8 with exact change on the cable car. I recommend checking out the SF Cable Car Website which has tips on how to board the cable cars, how to pay etc.
4. Snap a Pic of the Chinese Lanterns on Grant Avenue
One of my favorite things about Chinatown in San Francisco is the beautiful Chinese lanterns crisscrossing the streets throughout the neighborhood. Some streets are more adorned with lanterns than others which makes for a fun game of ‘who can spot the Chinese lanterns?”.
You’ll find a lot of lanterns strung along Grant Avenue and some across Ross Alley. They make for a really cute backdrop to snap a few pics of the kids!
If you want to learn more about the history of Grant Avenue and Chinatown (and if your kids are a bit older than ours) you may want to book this 2-hour walking tour of Chinatown.
5. Taste New Goodies at The AA Bakery & Cafe
No matter where we travel, we HAVE to stop at a local bakery or two (or three) and Chinatown in SF was no different! As we walked from the playground to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory we stepped into AA Bakery.
The bakery was full of locals speaking in different Chinese dialects to one another and the display cases were full of goodies that we’d never seen before. Since we were so unfamiliar with anything on display, we just chose a variety of items and hoped for the best!
It was fun experience to taste-test the different treats with the kids and we definitely found some winners!. Again, it legitimately felt like we had stepped into another country whilst still being in the US.
6. Look for unique foods at the local shops
We walked past so many small shops along Stockton Street full of imported goods with display signs written in Chinese characters. The tiny shops were usually full of locals doing their daily grocery shopping.
It’s fun to show the kids the different types of food different cultures eat and talk about how these different foods can help people feel like they are ‘home’.
7. Try Authentic Dim Sum To-Go at Good Mong Kok
Dim Sum is more of a group of food than a specific food. It’s a variety of small dishes usually consisting of meat or vegetables in dough or a wrapper that is either steamed or fried.
We saw SO many dim sum restaurants while exploring Chinatown San Francisco with kids. I would have loved to try some but we were a bit intimidated to visit the small, very authentic-looking restaurants where we didn’t know anything about dim sum (and were 99% sure our picky eaters wouldn’t like it).
However, after we visited Chinatown, I came across Good Mong Kok Bakery online. Good Mong Kok is a counter-service establishment that serves dim sum to-go. That would have been the perfect way for us to try it! I hear there can often be a line out the door but that it can move pretty quickly.
If we end up in Chinatown again on our next visit to San Francisco, we will definitely swing by Good Mong Kok Bakery.
If you’re a real foodie, you may want to book this Chinatown Food Tour– get guided through Chinatown to try all of the must-eat Chinese foods! You’ll just want to make sure your kids are old enough to stay engaged for the 3-hours of the tour… ours were too young to try something like this.
Guided Tours/Excursions in Chinatown for Older Kids
Our kids were only aged 4 and 2 when we visited Chinatown which means they weren’t really up for any super structured tours. But, if you have older kids, you may enjoy one of these Chinatown experiences:
- 2-Hour, Small-Group Vintage VW Bus City Tour (Including Chinatown): Ride through San Francisco with multiple stops on a vintage VW Bus on this super cute tour while listening to fun stories and learning the history of the city! You’ll even get to drive through Chinatown.
- San Francisco Chinatown Food Tour: 3-hour walking tour of authentic food in Chinatown. Learn an overview of the city while tasting delicious Chinese food!
- 2-Hour Walking Tour of Chinatown: Visit and learn about the most iconic spots of Chinatown on this 2-hour walking tour!
- 3-Hour PRIVATE & Customizable San Francisco Highlights Tour: If your family is pressed for time but you’re hoping to see all the top sites in San Francisco (including Chinatown) then you may consider booking this private tour of SF in an air-conditioned car! You can customize the trip with your drive and see exactly what you want with your family.
To see all of the available Chinatown/San Francisco tours on Viator click here.
And that’s everything I think you need to know to visit Chinatown in San Francisco with kids! We loved the few hours that we spent walking around this unique area of San Francisco with our young kids and I think you will too. Let me know if you have any questions below about things to do in Chinatown with kids- I’ll be sure to get back to you!
Check out these other posts, I know you’ll love them:
- 6 Best Playgrounds in San Francisco Near Top Tourist Sites
- The Ultimate Guide to Biking the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
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