China Right Here in America!

Rowland Heights Chinatown in Los Angeles

TRIP TO LOS ANGELES

As some of you know, I lived and worked in China some years ago. The life-long fascination with China and all things Chinese goes on to this day. Thus...

Through the good fortune of fate and the generosity of a prospering employer, I have returned to good ol' LA for some intense day business and an hour or two of fun for a couple nights on my visit. The days in my trip here as a medical technology writer are filled with meetings, protocol reviews, new med device technology, and establishing business alliances that will help me on my newest project.

But when the bells of night peal, it's time for me to hit the highway to one of the several Chinatowns that have sprung up in LA in these last few decades.

This is when the real fun begins.

ONE OF SEVERAL CHINATOWNS

At least three Chinatowns reside in Los Angeles in recent years. While it is arguable that there are more, the more obvious ones are located in:

1) Downtown Los Angeles - the "original" Chinatown established in LA in the late1800s.

2) The Valley Boulevard strip - One of the more modern Chinatowns located in the San Gabriel vicinity.

3) Rowland Heights - Another modern LA Chinatown, sometimes referred to in the localized Mandarin as Luo-Lan Gao.

On this trip to LA, I'm focusing on the Chinatown in Rowland Heights.

TO THE NORTH: "DIAMOND PLAZA"

Located on Fullerton Boulevard just south of the 60 Freeway is the northernmost part of LA's Rowland Heights Chinatown.

Popular among many of the Asian folks living in Los Angeles, here resides a strip of shops collectively known as Diamond Plaza. Busy during weeknights and packed to the gills during the weekends at any time of the day, Diamond Plaza is host to loads of fun - mostly of the shopping and eating variety.