The Pacific Renaissance Plaza has become a major hub of activity for Oakland’s Chinatown since its construction in the mid-1990s. It houses, among other things, the busy Asian Branch Library of the Oakland Public Library system, the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, restaurants, shops, and offices, as well as condominiums and apartments. Its underground parking garage is usually jampacked on weekends.

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William Wong was born and grew up in Oakland’s Chinatown. He went on to a distinguished journalism career (The Wall Street Journal, Oakland Tribune, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer). He is the author of Yellow Journalist: Dispatches from Asian America (Temple University Press, 2001) and Images of America: Oakland’s Chinatown (Arcadia Publishing Co., 2004).

Visit his web sites, http://www.yellowjournalist.com and http://www.oaklandchinatownhistory.org.