Chinese Historical Society of America

05/30/2026

Please join San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and Chinatown community residents and leaders for a milestone groundbreaking of the long-awaited Portsmouth Square Improvement Project.

DATE: Tuesday, June 9, 2026
TIME: 1:00 PM
LOCATION: Portsmouth Square Park – on the upper plaza

Come celebrate a historic milestone for Portsmouth Square 花園角 (Garden Corner). This once-in-a-generation investment, shaped by years of community input and support, will revitalize the square while honoring its rich cultural heritage and history.

05/30/2026

CHSA is back!

Starting today May 30, CHSA will re-open our doors to visitors, members, and our community. We look forward to engaging, enlightening, and educating the public about the history of Chinese in America and their important stories that have helped shape our country.

New museum hours are Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10AM to 5PM.

Check out our refreshed We Are Bruce Lee exhibit; the Challenging A White-washed History laundry exhibit; the Bruce Lee Underground art gallery; the Frank Wong miniatures collection; and the CHSA gift shop.

For more information, visit CHSA.org

05/29/2026

An in-person and virtual presentation by William Gow, historian, educator, documentary filmmaker, and Assistant Professor, Ethnic Studies Department, Sacramento State University, Sacramento, California.

In 1938, China City opened near downtown Los Angeles. Featuring a recreation of the House of Wang set from MGM’s The Good Earth, this new Chinatown employed many of the same Chinese Americans who performed as background extras in the 1937 film. Chinatown and Hollywood represented the two primary s...

05/25/2026

CHSA is excited to unveil a We Are Bruce Lee exhibit refresh that features a new wall design highlighting Bruce’s connections to the Bay Area and their formative impact on his life. With historical photos of Bruce as reference, the revamped installation displays many of Bruce’s old haunts and places of importance across both San Francisco and Oakland, including:

• Chinese Hospital in San Francisco, where Bruce was born in 1940.
•The boarding house in Chinatown where Bruce and his family stayed while his father was on tour as a traveling Cantonese opera performer until they returned to Hong Kong months after Bruce’s birth.
• Sunday Sing Theater in Chinatown, which screened Bruce’s film, ENTER THE DRAGON.
• The Oakland home of friend James Yimm Lee, where Bruce stayed after moving from Seattle.
Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, Bruce’s second official Jeet Kune Do studio
• The headquarters of the San Francisco branch of the Kuomintang, where Bruce taught cha cha dance lessons.

The Bruce Lee Bay Area Connection installation pays tribute to the important and influential places, moments, and people from San Francisco and Oakland that helped Bruce embark upon his journey and shape and pave the way for Bruce’s later successes and storied career.

Come discover Bruce and his Bay Area ties as part of this addendum to the We Are Bruce Lee exhibit at the Chinese Historical Society of America.

For more information, visit CHSA.org.

05/23/2026

Announcement:
FREE ADMISSION on Sunday, May 31

Join us in celebration of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month for a free admission day on Sunday, May 31 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Stop by CHSA and enjoy:

• Unlimited viewing of the We Are Bruce Lee and the Challenging a Whitewashed History exhibits
• A free public lecture: “Chinese Americans and Civil Rights: Celebrating the 250th Semiquincentennial” at 1 p.m.
• Access to the CHSA gift shop

This complimentary admission day is presented in conjunction with the free Cultural Festival in Chinatown happening on Grant Avenue.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

05/20/2026

Author Charlotte Brooks’ book The Moys of New York and Shanghai follows the family through World War I and II, the Great Depression, and the Chinese Nationalist and Communist revolutions. The book serves as a “kaleidoscopic view” of a generation caught between two worlds, illustrating the broader second-generation immigrant struggle for acceptance and belonging.

Program includes Q&A, book signing, and lunch reception.

WHEN: Saturday, June 6, 11AM
WHERE: CHSA Museum

For tickets, visit link in bio or go to CHSA.org.