中國城：帶你回“國”歸“家”

Antonio Han

“洋裝雖然穿在身，我心依然是中國心。”

千百年來，總有人離開家鄉，去廣闊的世界體驗不一樣的人生。有人背負使命，想尋找長生不老的靈丹妙藥；有人出于好奇，想看看別人的世界；有人心懷憧憬，想謀求不一樣的生活方式……原因也許有多種多樣，但他們對祖國的思念，總會在不經意間，“才下眉頭，又上心頭”。

對漂洋過海的游子來說，祖國，永遠是心中最牽掛的那部分。每年的春節聯歡晚會，也總有祖國對海外各地華僑、華人、留學生的問候。中華人民共和國成立70周年了，“出國潮”潮漲潮退，學成歸國的人越來越多，這是一種新時代背景下的“歸鄉”。

San Francisco Begins In Chinatown

美國舊金山始于中國城

The first private residence in San Francisco was an adobe house. It was built around 1822， in the heart of what is now Chinatown. Soon a handful of houses were built around the same area. And that was the beginning of San Francisco.

The largest and oldest Chinese community in the United States is the Chinatown area of San Francisco. For over 150 years， San Francisco has had a significant Chinese population， and until the 1940s， most of the Chinese in San Francisco lived in Chinatown.

The San Francisco Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North America， as well as the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. People go to the San Francisco Chinatown to enjoy an authentic atmosphere. It offers temples， theaters， restaurants， antique（古代的）shops and souvenir shops. Signs are written in both Chinese and English here. Traditional herbal（草藥的） medicine is popular among locals and tourists. Over 300 restaurants offer all sorts of authentic Chinese food. Whats more， as the oldest and the largest， the San Francisco Chinatown is famous for its wonderful Chinese New Year celebrations.

In 1848， gold was discovered in California in the United States. And in 1848， three Chinese immigrants， one man and two women， arrived at San Francisco， hoping to find gold， wealth and return to China. And only two years later， 20，000 Chinese arrived in “Gold Mountain”. Back in the 19th century， Chinese people in the United States had to fight for their rights and against racial prejudice（種族的偏見）. They were prohibited from becoming citizens. And they were not allowed to own property， to vote， nor to marry non-Chinese. But today， 150 years later in San Francisco， Chinese are an essential part of the city. Chinatown is the citys top tourist attraction.

舊金山的第一座私人住宅是一座土坯房。它建于1822年左右，位于現今中國城的中心地帶。很快，附近區域開始建起了少數房屋。這就是舊金山這座城市的開始。

美國最龐大、最古老的華人社區是舊金山的中國城區域。150多年來，舊金山一直有大量華人，直到20世紀40年代，大部分舊金山的華人都住在中國城。

舊金山中國城是北美洲最古老的中國城，也是亞洲以外最大的中國城。人們到舊金山中國城是為了感受純正的“中國味”。這里有廟宇、劇院、餐廳、古董店和紀念品商店。各種標識都是用中、英雙語寫的。傳統中藥在當地人和游客中都頗受歡迎。超過300家餐廳提供各式各樣的正宗中國菜。更重要的是，作為最古老和最大的中國城，它以其精彩的春節慶典活動而聞名。