First Stop When Arriving San Francisco – San Francisco Chinatown Visitor Information Center (SFCVIC)
San Francisco Chinatown Visitor Information Center (SFCVIC) was finally opened to public on January 31 2019. The visitor center has been renovated as a new and modern place with built-in crafts, hume station, touch-screen tablet and a full Chinatown map designed by Jing Zhang, a Chinese British illustrator. All in all, the center is filled with a strong Chinese art spirit.
The center is located at 625 Kearny Street in San Francisco. The ground floor is built for welcoming tourists, and the second floor is built for Singtao readers to buy newspapers.
(from left to right) Publisher/Editor in Chief of SF Singtao Daily Joseph Leung, Deputy Manager of Taipei Economic and
Trade Office in San Francisco Yingxing Li, Yee Keung Siu from Chu Hai Alumni Association
Guests visiting VCIC on grand opening day. (credit to Singtao reporter Liu Yu Zhu)
The plaque of the visitor center is designed to orange, and the two sides of the main entrance doors are built with two large floor-to-ceiling glasses.
The left window will be used as a regular exhibition of outstanding artwork from Chinese artists. When you enter the center, you will see a Chinese traditional style wishing tree on the right.
People visiting the center.
The window of the visitor center will regularly exhibit outstanding art work from Chinese artists.
The director of CVIC, Julia Ling, hopes the center could provide visitors the best service in the coming future. The center has used red as the theme color to highlight our traditional Chinese culture.
Besides from reception desk, the center has a number of seats and multi-plug phone chargers provided for visitors when they come in. They know maps and travel brochures are necessary when tourists travel around the city, these are all well-prepared in the center as well.
SFCVIC provides tourists leaflets regarding to Chinatown, and also travel brochures and maps.
The map is the most special part of the center and the most popular among tourists. It was designed in a cartoon-style by a British artist called Jing Zhang. It occupied the entire wall of the center providing a detailed list of the most visited places in Chinatown. The huge touch-screen tablet is the most functional equipment for visitors to browse the center’s official website to learn more about history, shops and activities in Chinatown.
The center also becomes a platform dedicated to displaying traditional Chinese art – the beautifully packaged chopsticks, teapots, and mahjong which gives a strong Chinese atmosphere.