In San Francisco's Chinatown, many tourists - indeed, many longtime Bay Area residents - never make it past the silk purses and bamboo backscratchers in shops lining Grant Avenue. But if you want to get to the heart of Chinatown, see it through the eyes of the kids who grew up there and who now lead the Chinatown Alleyway Tours, offered every Saturday morning from Portsmouth Square.
These are not your typical tours, pointing out only the cosmetic highlights of one of San Francisco's oldest immigrant communities. The guides who lead the tours - usually a few of them at a time - are savvy, lively storytellers and knowledgeable politically, as well as historically. A couple of hours spent with them walking down the byways and alleys will help you get to know a side of the neighborhood behind the touristy side of the largest Chinese community outside of Asia.
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