Old Town Chinatown

I came here to visit the Chinese garden. I wanted to believe that the media reports are exaggerated, but they sadly are not. The neighborhood actually looked nice and interesting, but the entire place is full of homeless and druggies. We were there on a Friday evening and I did not feel safe walking around especially with a camera, or pulling my phone out to take a picture. I wanted to get inside the gardens as quickly as possible, then leave the area as quickly as possible. While inside the gardens I could hear people screaming at each other in the streets. It's very sad what happened to this city. The local government clearly doesn't care about tourism or getting these people clean and off the streets. Truly sad, as the city has so much potential.

I was frustrated, disappointed, and furious with the ways the city did not make any great progress in clearing out all homelessness in this old town. I went around the Chinatown in 30mins and the same scenario happened in every corner. I saw drug addicts, drunk, homeless people camping on the sidewalks. The characteristic smell is the smell of urine. People are staying away from this beautiful historical town, businesses are closed down, and people feel unsafe going here.

Not much to do or see besides homeless people and their garbage. Multiple human poos on the sidewalk and people camped out on sidewalks sleeping. One homeless person even yelled and spit at us as we were walking by minding our own business. Be careful in this area

I've frequented Old Town since 1982. It was once all bars (every kind imaginable) Chinese restaurants and Old Town pizza. You can easily indulge in every sin. Your most secret wants desires and pleasures can be found in the streets that are in Alphabetical Order South to North from W. Burnside to Irving east to west 2nd to Broadway. That's considered Old Town China Town. No movie stars here. Out beautiful homeless, junkies, tweezers, prostitutes (female male and both) drunks, confused, thr misplaced, the lost, the curious, the loved, hated, feared and invisible. Now in 2025. Everything that made Old Town the curiosity that it once was. The devils playground is long gone. Only the ghosts of what and who made it wonderfully alluring in a dirty sorta way wonder aimlessly looking for the once was but will never be again. Closed down store fronts empty buildings a methadone clinic a couple bars and Old Town Pizza now make up this once curious yet fun as Hell part of Portland . Once known as Portlands Jungle is now a dead waste land. It makes me so sad to see homeless families sleeping in the doorway of an empty once was low income apartment buildings. They are just an inch away from a real roof over their head. Just on the other side of a locked door. It makes me wonder what the Hell happened. Drugs? Nope dope was is has been a part of this part of town for at least a century if not longer. Where did everyone go? The tent city is gone and idiots smoking shooting dope out on the sidewalk are gone Thank goodness. Thank you clean and safe for keeping Old Town clean once again. Those men &women deserve more than just a mere Thanx or pat on the back. They deserve a comfortable safe life. Good people they are indeed. So when you see one in a yellow work vest pushing a utility hand cart make sure and say Thank you. I live down there so when I have at least a $5 to give I make sure to put it in their hand for a cup of coffee as I voice my appreciation the same time. They do make a difference. So yes I give Old Town 5 gold stars. Always have always will. A teen age me still stomps those streets in ghostly form still all the same I have more good memories than I do bad. Can't say that about many places. Do I suggest tourist groups to check it out? Hell NO! Unless you're looking for sex or drugs then you're in the right place. WELCOME.....

Traveling, heartbreaking to see how damaged the area is. One armed half naked female in wheelchair shooting up drugs with blood shooting out arm. Guy who helped ran off leaving her to bleed out. Graffiti, tent cities and people trying get money from you. So sad to see what 30 years away has done to this place. Government gave up, time for new elective officials, with back bones.

Nice monument in Chinatown, but unfortunately has many less fortunate people sleeping around the area and the parking meters have some sticky solution attached to them. The unfortunate reality of a large city.

Unfortunately this area does not feel very safe to hang around. There are a lot of homeless people, which is okay, however the streets are very dirty and I happened to notice a lot.of needles. This is not safe at all for families and kids to walk around. The city should set up a sharps disposal site in this area.

pretty much just the gateway... the garden is not free and nothing much there as well... good try but the overall Chinatown is "where is Chinatown" nothing you can find there... sorry to say, the city and management need to step up and improve... abandoned shop and keep Portland weird...there is a few Asian shop but not Chinatown...

I was the only Asian there when I visited. What even was this place? No business were open and in the background I heard homeless people blasting gangster rap on their stereos. Occasionally, I saw some attempts of representing Chinese temples and paper lanterns; however, the smell of urine and the sight of litter scattered everywhere made the whole experience unpleasant. I expected nothing, and was still let down.

Oh wow. What a poorly named section of town. It has an impressive, grand entrance and cool street lamps, but was unlike any other Chinatown I've ever been in. I was expecting more Chinese places with authentic Chinese food, stores, or something Chinese. It was like a half a block with one or 2 Chinese businesses. Based on the other reviews, it doesn't even look like it's a product of Covid. The only good thing I could say about it was Voodoo Donut is close. Get a Maple Bacon Donut and walk away.

Hands down, THE WORST Chinatown I have ever ever visited. My sister and I made the drive out to Portland's Chinatown in hopes of finding some good eats and something fun to do for the day. The streets and sidewalks were filthy and was completely dead beyond the vast number of homeless people who occupied every corner. Buildings sat empty, boarded up, or seemed very questionable. Lan Su Chinese Garden is located here for an additional fee but be advised that this too was a waste of money & time. Do not let the twin stone foo dogs @ the entrance fool you. Spare yourself the parking fee, wasted time, effort, & the annoyance by avoiding this place completely.

So small and barely a few blocks, is Chinatown community. Not much besides the garden that you have to go into and that you need to pay entrance fee. Not much strong culture and scene to be lingering about in. Left uninspired, but good to drop by a visit if you're out of town and peruse through.

A bustling and busy neighborhood, especially on this dragon festival morning. We walked around, following and among hundreds of others who were there to catch a glimpse of the traditional parade and dragon dancers. Children riding the shoulders of their parents, eager spectators standing in the middle of the street IN the parade route, people squatting in front and standing tall at the back, could be seen for blocks. Music and festivities ensued, continuing for about an hour as some stayed to continue watching and others went about their business. Restaurants and shopping establishments seemed closed - at least temporarily- as they parade made its way around. Except, of course, Voodoo Donuts, where the line grew to follow the block and around the corner as the parade ended. Lanterns and photo opps at every corner with the entrance to Chinatown among the most favorite.

I love all ethnic enclaves in my city and each and every city. However, Chinatown, here in Portland was a sad sight to see. I almost wanted to shed a tear at how many homeless people there were. Be forewarned that you will smell urine while through the streets of Chinatown. Instead of that being my focus... I will say the Chinese signs, status, and architectural design was quite impressive.

This is the bare bones remnant of what was once a thriving ethnic enclave. There is extensive street parking, some surface lots scattered around, parking garages on the perimeter of Chinatown, and no less then three max (commuter rail) stops. It's also within easy walking distance of the original voodoo donuts, the Saturday market, and waterfront amongst other things. That means that if you are out and about wandering around you'll prolly pass by/through the place even if it's not your destination, which is just fine because as far as lively interesting destinations go this one is on the historical not very active side of things-unless of course there is a street festival of some kind in work such as Chinese new years. This is not something unique to Portland-most American Chinatowns (and Japan towns. Little Italy's, polish towns, majority African American neighborhoods etc.) are fading away not least because the reasons they existed in the first place-an inability to live anywhere else (racism, jim crow etc.) are no longer in effect. Overall this is a good thing, but it does mean that the distinctive ethnic life of historical neighborhoods is over. At least in semi valuable property in urban cores anyway. Outside of the super awesome gardens and a magnificent arch there's not a lot left. Still worth a quick look see and selfie, but don't expect too much here. Drop by the nearby food truck pods for lunch if you've a mind to. Other reviewers mention homeless-but there aren't any more in Chinatown then any other part of Portland. Not a must do by any means, but still an interesting thing to check out if for no other reason then to see how demographic change shapes a city.

I'm very disappointed if not kind of offended, as a Chinese American that the city of Portland has let it's Chinatown become such a ghetto. I know the origins of most cities Chinatowns were areas where ethnic Chinese immigrants converged because they were not allowed to live elsewhere due to racial discrimination. It was only many decades later that the residents in these communities strived to thrive and live the American Dream as people to eventually became known as "The Model Minorities" succeeding if not surpassing the mainstream on teh statistical averages in many aspects of what society and civilization considers traits of success. Towards the 1960's, these Chinatown areas became commercialized and tourist attractions filled with great restaurants as they're known in most major metropolitain cities today. I saw Chinatown as a landmark on a tourist / visitor's guide map of Portland, so was curious to how it compared to other Chinatowns such as San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, which I was speculating it would not compare in size/scope, but actually thought it would be a nicer tighter knit community, even more upscale given it's Portland... geez, was I wrong and way way way off... This Chinatown is a ghetto, not even a Yellow Ghetto either, it's home to many seemingly transient, homeless and mentally ill. The streets smells like the Ass of an Ass, that has been marinated in a pool of urine. I happened to overhear a seemingly crazy lady tell a police officer that some other crazy lady randomly came up to her as she was minding her own business and for no reason punched her in the face and then kept on moving forward with casualness... so if the crazy folks are calling other people crazy, you know it's very chaotic on this side of town. There's really no local businesses here that are appealing for the most part, unless you're a local and know of a "hole in the wall" - - but as a tourist, it offers nothing positive as a first impression. Voodoo Donuts is located on the cusp outside of Chinatown. This area needs re-gentrification and a dramatic makeover. This is where, usually I hold millennial hipsters to a certain level of disdain, but think they are the ones who ultimately can make this area better. It's been done in SF's SoMa and LA's Downtown areas, so most certainly can be done here. I heard there is some sort of nightlife here, but I'm not sure what type. During the day it feels sketchy, so I could only imagine how bad it could seem at night. I'd love to visit Portland again and hear that Chinatown has has it's socioeconomic profile raised a bit. You always hear of Hong Kong, Taiwanese and money from China coming into the USA buying properties, etc. - - this is a golden opportunity for foreign money to invest into rebuilding something and creating a more utopian community that could become an economic mecca as well. I'd speculate the land isn't cheap, but also is probably on the lower average for the city based on how run down it is.

Probably the worst Chinatown I have been to. I do not understand how this area could be considered a Chinatown. It felt like the added Chinese entry arch and decided to call it Chinatown. I wanted to walk around and get souvenirs like you would at most Chinatown but this place was ghetto! We drove through it in less then a minute and did not want to get out. There was nothing open and barely any people here, not even any Chinese! Not worth a visit or a drive by.

I have to agree with others "where and how the heck was this Chinatown?" Luckily we went to boo soo donuts which eight by here there are only entrance gates there is no real Chinatown down here like any other city I have been too.

Chinatown in Portland is incredibly ghetto and disappointing. This is a MUST stay away to add to your list. While vacationing in Portland with my husband during our December trip, we ended up eating at 1 of the only 2 restaurants in Chinatown open for dinner on Christmas night. Generally speaking, Chinatown in any city/ state is usually somewhat dumpy, not in the safest parts (homeless seem to like to reside and populate Chinatown for some reason and most of those that are homeless aren't even Chinese... so not too sure what it is about Chinatown they seem to like) and require you pay for parking. But I have to say that this Chinatown in Portland was probably the worst that I have been in so far. What really surprised me the most about this Chinatown is that it is incredibly small too. There wasn't a whole lot of decor that symbolized or expressed that this was Chinatown. One red entrance gate, a few red light posts and 2 Chinese lion statues. Shouldn't there be more? This place was so empty (even the other times when we drove through here that was not on Christmas) and a lot of the businesses were closed or boarded up. Now that is depressing. Maybe Portland is just becoming too hipster to appreciate something as iconic as Chinatown should be. Perhaps this city should take a page from San Francisco's Chinatown or Los Angeles' Chinatown.

So many homeless people gather near here. Who ruined the environment of neighborhood totally. No way to do business anymore, commercial atmosphere is freezing. There's a charity activity couple of blocks away, lots of homeless were attracted. I don't know which is the root, homeless here first and then the charity? Or weekly charity made homeless come to China town?

I am disappointed in this chinatown. First there are barely any asians around. 2nd the stores are mostly all closed or boarded up. 3rd it looks like a deserted town. Not the NYC chinatown that I'm used to from the shoulder to shoulder walking and the smell of rotten fish and of course restaurants after restaurants on every street.

The average review for Chinatown (Old Chinatown?) in Portland is pretty accurate. Coming from California, I've experienced a fair share of decent Chinatowns (SF, LA, etc.), and this one just doesn't hit the mark. I understand that there's a very small population of Chinese people (Asian at that) in Portland and Oregon and so it makes sense that this area is more of a sorry excuse for China culture. There's only a few restaurants here, the block looks unpolished, and the only redeeming quality about the Chinatown here is the famous garden (even that is $$ to go to). We spent our lunch here eating at Red Robe Tea House, which just doesn't seem like a restaurant that belongs in a Chinatown. You're supposed to have your dirty dim sum shops and a bunch of bargain stores nearby but it's pretty much a ghost town. Maybe on weekdays it's a bit better because this area is probably overshadowed by the Saturday/Sunday markets in Portland. If you are coming to the city and Chinatown is one of your destinations, please be advised: there's nothing to see. Have fun and prosper,

DO NOT GO HERE AT NIGHT! I am rating this a 1 star based on my only experience in China town, which was last weekend. My friend and I went to celebrate my birthday here. It was around midnight, and a man was driving next to us, harassing us. We told him to leave us alone and he stopped at a stop sign, got out of his car and slapped me right across the face. Luckily another guy had pulled up behind him and told him to leave us alone. He ran back to his car and sped off. We got his license plate, and called the cops. The cops couldn't do anything about it because the car was registered in a females name. I wonder what would have happened if that guy wasn't around to scare him off. I believe he would have tried to knock us out and throw us in his car.

This place was just plain sad when I visited here today. There wasnt a lot of bums or hobos around during the afternoon but you could tell the area was not a "popular" or "well kept". I came here to try a chinese restaurant, but in general to tourists in Portland, avoid this chinatown area. The shops and stores look really run down and there isnt much here to see. The entrance of this area looks very cool with the traditional lion heads and chinese gateway structure, but don't be fooled. I would NOT recommend this area to anyone...ever.

I came armored with the previous reviews on how terrible this Chinatown is in the Portland area. It was better than I expected on my visit. I expected to see a ton of homeless and smell of an outdoor outhouse. To my please surprise I didn't see more than two homeless people which is essentially none in my daily life. I came across.more beggers at Voodoo Donuts. The smell was neutral and I didn't come across any offensive smells. My only trouble is that there really seems to be no community here other than a few Asian themed looking buildings, and those where vacant of any business.

Decided to stop here during my layover once before. Not really much of a Chinatown. More like China block with a few buildings here and there. It's tiny, dirty, and feels pretty sketch. No sign of life; it's like walking in a zombie apocalypse. I recommend choosing Seattle for your layover as their Chinatown (and Seattle for that matter) is more vibrant.

Hmmmm theres really nothing here except the garden but I didnt visit. China town looks dead and not many businesses. Its sad looking when it has so much potential.

Should just rename this place Poorland Chinatown. Got into town at 6pm and the homeless were already camped all over the streets. Came back in the late morning and the homeless were packing up. Noticed all the shops didn't open till the afternoon and all closed by 5pm. There weren't many shops around, most were just empty shells. Even seen a crow eating a rat..

There really isn't much left to Chinatown any more , just a few old signs. The people and businesses have moved on. Today areas along 82nd feel the part much more. The landmarks here are new. Trying to reinfect a bit of culture. To an extent, they work. Now if only some life would return to the areas between the landmarks...well here are the ones I consider landmarks. The elephant statue in the Park blocks by Burnside- great statue. The big gate, also along Burnside. It is great, to bad there isn't a better neighborhood behind it any more. The Lan-Su Garden- I saved the best for last. It is a really great little garden. I think it's a must see when your in town.

I was really disappointed with this area. I thought it would be interesting, but it really wasn't. You can take the tour, and go into the subterranean tunnels that were used to "Shanghai" sailors, and I suppose that is interesting, but, for the most part, the place was dirty, run down, and looked like a skid row. There were people camping in the streets, plenty of drunks and panhandlers, and pretty much nothing of value to be seen. Fortunately, this area of Downtown is very near "better" areas. Just walk West a few block, and you'll come to a tree-lined central avenue that is much cleaner, and much more attractive to everyone.

Wow this Chinatown completely sucks... There is absolutely nothing. Being a Seattle native I was hoping for a rich sense of culture or even a little. Portland's Chinatown makes Seattle Chinatown look like SF's or New York. What a joke this place is.

It's really sad to watch China Town slowly dying over the past couple of decades. Business used to be good. There were unique, authentic restaurants and shops to visit, but unfortunately many have had to shutter through the years. It never was anything comparable to San Francisco, but there were still reasons to go. It's now an area that I drive through, but really don't care to venture into on foot. The only places that seem to do well are the bars that attract a younger and bridge and tunnel crowd on the weekend. The homeless population and drug problem have only gotten worse. I'm afraid that's the primary reason this area is circling the drain. Even the OG institution, Magic Garden is closing. Go only if you want the disheartening experience of seeing lost souls and rundown closed buildings. Be careful not to get mugged.

One star rating because this is a non-Chinatown. I've stayed in Chinatown in NY, Toronto and Philadelphia so I was expecting vibrant activity and endless choices of interesting food. Nope, we walked around a few blocks and didn't find Chinatown in Portland. Reading the other reviews confirmed we were actually in Chinatown because I thought maybe I was missing something. There's really nothing here. It wasn't even sketchy unless you worry about homeless people.

Portland's version of Chinatown needs a bit more.........Chinatown. If you see pictures of the inviting, regal Chinese gateway, then you've seen it all. To get to the archway, you must walk through the many homeless camping on the sidewalks outside the gate. However, if you keep walking thru you will find a great little Comic Book store and Lan Su Gardens- a tranquil Chinese garden and tea house.

The next morning after our first night out in Portland, we decided to come down to downtown to check out a farmers market but that was closed. Then we saw a parade and at the end of the parade, we saw Chinese lion statues and a gate which only meant one thing- Chinatown! In Portland! So we decided to check it out. The gate to the entrance of Chinatown from NW 4th Ave was pretty nice. Two lions on each side and a gate in traditional Chinese architecture. We walked down the street and the excitement went away. The windows and shops looked dilapidated and closed, like Chinatown has probably seen better days. There was also a lot of trash on the ground and it just felt like the neglected, afterthought part of town which is truly unfortunate as Chinatowns are usually robust with things to do, shops, some culture, delicious food smells and electric with people walking around. Maybe I'm use to Chinatown in SF and LA. Have yet to check out Chinatown in NYC. I digress. Maybe the Chinese/Asian population is small or many have moved on? Seems like it. Not many restaurants I did see or things to do. We went a few blocks in and then decided to go to an arcade.

The Chinatown portion of Old Town in Portland extends north from West Burnside St. to Union Station. The entrance is marked by a China gate (built in 1986), complete with a pair of lions, at the corner of NW 4th Ave. and W Burnside St. A portion of the Chinatown was designated in 1989 the New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District. There are a few of the restaurants, and that was it. By comparison to Chinatown in San Francisco, or NYC, or London in England. It kind of reminds me of what Chinatown is in Washington DC, but DC is all turned into business and entertainment district. This one is a bit to little of everything. The only thing is the Chinatown Gate for a pic.

It's horrible. I remember back in the seventies where it was a Chinatown . There was an elderly Asian women who would sew and hem for people for cheap , quite a few open businesses , Stores open selling Chinese items , and more. Now the store is boarded up, the hotel above it boarded up . I know , I used to live in the dumpy hotel . I was homeless in the seventies and eighties . I have seen the decay . It was better when there was a real skid row . There were hotels for cheap for people to stay in , nightly, weekly, or monthly . Don't blame the homeless for the city shutting down every place for them to rent . Yes, you have young people who are so lazy and heroin addicts. But you also have people who are the working poor who can't afford to rent anywhere. I am on disability. My income is 770 a month. Dear Yelpers, tell me where I can rent IF i don't have section 8 housing or some form of assistance . NO where is the answer. Thankfully, I have very kind Asian landlords who have rented to me for 13 years . Those hotels are still there, those rooms are still there, but they are boarded up and closed. Powers that be , spend some money and fix those places up and homeless problem reduced greatly . Chinatown , as it stand now , is not worth visiting if you are from out of town . Visit the Grotto on 85th and Sandy Blvd, and other places. But unless you want to see a bunch of homeless peeing on the sidewalks and a ghetto, don't go to to the so called Chinatown. I feel sad for the Chinese having that area called Chinatown/

Portland's Chinatown District seemed so dead, no pride at all. I mean, yes I did see the Chinatown gate with two lions, but that's about it. But there were other tourists taking pics of it and all. To me, seems like the rest are just too busy with the hip and modern festivities in downtown PDX. It is right across VooDoo Donuts and such. But yeah, it was pretty interesting to me. Chinatown Gate = picture taken.

Oh lord! Where do I begin? I recall writing a scathing review of Washington D.C.'s virtually non-existent Chinatown a couple of years ago on Yelp and Portland's Chinatown is equally non-existent if not worse. There's still a beautiful gate and ornaments, street signs with Chinese printed on them, and some interesting architecture but hardly anything Chinese anymore. All that's left are a few rundown looking restaurants sprinkled here and there, one convenience store, and one surviving curio shop. We went to the one of the bigger looking restaurants (I don't remember the name) for dim sum but the dim sum was at best mediocre, the prices were expensive, and the interior was very worn as if the owners don' even bother updating anymore. Worse are the huge crowds of homeless, drug addicted, mentally ill vagrants walking and lying about everywhere and stinking up the whole place. Altogether it was a very depressing experience.If you're in Portland, head to 82nd Ave and Division for a real authentic Chinese/Vietnamese vibe. Portland's Old Chinatown will likely be completely dead before the decade is out.