This film from 1952 tours Chinatown in San Francisco, California, the largest Chinese settlement outside the orient. It displays how Chinese culture and heritage are preserved in a largely Chinese neighborhood in the United States of America while incorporating modern American capitalism elements, such as hospitals and banks. The film is a Standard oil company of California presentation, produced by Motion Picture Service Co., San Francisco, narrated by Dick Wynne, with the story by William Thorp, and is photographed and edited by Harold A. Zell.

Chinese character being painted on a wall (00:10). “China By the Golden Gate” title banner (00:12). Credits (00:19). Views of San Francisco, California (00:29). Views of Chinatown in San Francisco (00:40). Views of Chinese residents working and living in Chinatown, San Francisco (01:08). Traditional Chinese craft ship (01:48). ‘The House of Ming’ store selling Chinese items, including ceramics, ivory, silk, and jade (a precious stone sacred in China) (01:57). A statue of the Chinese God of success (02:49). Views of buildings in Chinatown all resembling traditional Chinese architecture (02:53). Views of an American bank looking and functioning as a Chinese bank (03:16). A banker using an ancient Chinese abacus calculating tool (03:23). The banker hands a costumer dollars in cash (03:38). Chinese newspapers (03:47). The newspapers are handprinted using stamps of Chinese characters (03:57). An urban apothecary selling remedies used for thousands of years (04:32). A modern hospital in Chinatown (05:38). Stores and markets selling fresh fish and produce, including squid, snails, shark fins, preserved eggs, and sauerkraut (05:49). Pressed sun-dried duck (06:57). A family is eating at a round table filled with traditional Chinese dishes (07:06). The flag of the United States of America raised at a public school for young Chinese/American children (08:03). An evening school teaching children Chinese culture, heritage, and language (08:19). Young Chinatown residents play on a playground (09:25). Other residents of Chinatown spend time in a public park for the annual picnic organized by the Chinese American Citizen Alliance (09:51). A crowd is gathered for the ‘Miss Chinatown’ beauty contest event at the picnic (10:18). Four women play a game of mahjong (11:13). A Christian church with Chinese architecture (11:59). Churchgoers entering and exiting the church (12:09). Saint Mary’s Chapel (12:15). The first Chinese Baptist church (12:17). The Chinese Presbyterian church (12:19). A woman enters a Buddhist temple, strikes the drum, lights incense, and pours sacramental wine (12:21). She prays to a figure of the goddess of mercy, Guanyin, by repeating her action three times representing the trinity of the past, present, and future (12:56). A temple for the life and teachings of Confucius (13:29). A Taoist temple, also called a dàoguàn or gōngguàn (13:39). An alter for the queen of heaven (13:46). A meeting of the six companies (originally Kong Chow Company, which split into six in 1868), a political organ in the partial self-governing of Chinatown (14:34). Founded family associations (14:56). Views of the pioneering Chinese American ceramist and author Jane Snow Wong working in her studio (15:14). Chingwah Lee giving a tour of his studio and museum in Chinatown (15:56). His collection includes a pottery camel dating from the Tang dynasty/empire (16:14), a 5000 years old prehistoric jar (16:21), a 1200 years old jar (16:26), a black and white sum jar (16:35), a jar with waves and blossoms dating from the Ming dynasty (16:44), a black Hawthorne jar (16:52), and a blue Hawthorne jar dating from the Kangxi period (16:58). Chingwah’s visitors overserve (17:09). More exhibited traditional Chinese art (17:12). Street preparations for the Chinese New Year (17:25). Decorations for the New Year celebration (17:51) and platters of foods (17:59). Two young children share food (18:14). Lettuce and money are hung above a doorstep as a lettuce offering to the Chinese lion, symbolizing wealth and prosperity (18:30). Firecrackers going off (18:35). Lion Dance (18:44). A firecracker exploding (19:07). Neon signs lighting up after sundown (19:43). Chinese New Year parade (19:53) featuring all-girl drum majorettes of Saint Mary’s Chapel in Chinese robes (20:19). The dance of the Golden Dragon (20:37). “The End” (21:20).

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com