Message From Mayor Mufi Hannemann


I am pleased to invite you to join the City and County of Honolulu and its many partners in Chinatown to celebrate the Month in Chinatown as we approach the Year of the Tiger. The weeks preceding the Chinese New Year, February 14th, will be filled with food and cultural activities, colorful parades, lion dances, and all the festivities we associate with this time.

Once again the public and private sectors have come together to pool our resources to ensure an exciting and memorable calendar of events for residents and visitors alike. This partnership, first introduced in 2006, grows stronger each year.

This is what makes Chinatown so exciting. Chinatown is still evolving and changing. Chinatown continues to incorporate a rich mixture of cultures, people, and activities, while maintaining a strong sense of identity. Chinatown bustles with vitality and activity and it's this spirit that will ensure another successful celebration.

Aloha and Kung Hee Fat Choy!


Chinatown is Hawaii's most exciting and mysterious neighborhood. The historic district is located in downtown Honolulu, and has long been a popular gathering place for kama`aina and visitors. As a gateway to Hawaii for many immigrants, Chinatown is a colorful and eclectic blend of Southeast Asian cultures.

Vietnamese, Laotian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Filipino, Hawaiian, Korean and Caucasian merchants work harmoniously together, selling their wares and perpetuating respective cultural traditions. Daily, visitors and residents flock to Chinatown to buy fresh produce, fish, meat, manapua, candied fruits and vegetables, noodles, tea, duck eggs, char siu and other Asian delicacies. At noon, people in the downtown business community flock to the nearby area for dim sum, or lunch at one of the delicious and inexpensive specialty restaurants.

"Variety" best describes the visitor’s Chinatown experience. All within a fifteen-block area, one may consult an herbalist, view an art exhibit, and see a dragon procession, make an offering at a Buddhist temple, or buy precious jade and a cheong sam gown. Chinatown’s history is a rich part of Hawaii’s story.


Asian Comics

Chinatown Hawaii is happy to offer you a daily dose of humor with the comical drawings from creator Yen Liu. 'Justin & Will' is also published in the Houston Chronicle's Asian Focus supplement. Stay a while and laugh it up with Justin and Will.


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