Chinese Culture In the Bay Area

CHINESE SCHOOL

The Berryessa Chinese School located in San Jose was founded in 1980. The classes are held on Saturdays every month. The Morrill campus accommodates Pre-K to 2nd grade.

The school's purpose is to help Chinese American children connect with their cultural heritage. The school teaches in both Canton

ese and Mandarin and has a cultural class for their students. There are two other campuses, for older grades. For 3rd-5th grade, the Chinese school is held at Sierramont Middle School and for 6th-12th grade it is held at Piedmont Middle School.

The cultural classes offer a variety of subjects to study: calligraphy, martial arts, badminton, soccer and painting.

CHINESE FOOD (Restaurants, shopping center etc.)

In Milpitas there is large Asian shopping center which includes "99 Ranch Market." In fact, my family and I buy a lot of our groceries from the "99 Ranch Market" in Newark. In the shopping complex at Milpitas, there is a popular Halal (meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic rites) Chinese Restaurant called "Darda." I've been going to "Darda" since I was twelve years old and one of my most favorite entrees is the green onion sesame bread and mongolian beef.

The green onion sesame bread is a thick pancake, studded with sesame seeds and filled with green onions.

CHINATOWN

The Chinatown in San Francisco is the largest Chinatown outside of mainland China. Initially, when the Chinese first came to California, they were forced to live in the ghettos of San Francisco, which eventually became known as "Chinatown." Anti-Chinese sentiment forced Chinese Americans into ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, for their protection. What was once known as an area of poverty and violence, today is known as a vibrant tourist area. In fact, more people visit Chinatown than the Golden Gate Bridge!

Chinatown in 1920 (View from North Grant St.):