The special exhibition is even better than the main one. Don’t miss this hidden gem in downtown San Diego.

Wonderful. Free if you went on the San Diego trolley. Be sure to busy the other museum across to the street and don't miss the outside. We purchased a few things from the small store inside and they were original and we'll priced.

We went here to learn about my great grandfather and his family. i am glad my sons had a chance to see the museum so they could. have a better understanding of our family history

Admission is $8 and there’s a moderate amount of stuff to see, all pretty interesting. The staff are also very eager to chat. There was an exhibit on the Chinese pioneers in San Diego, broad Chinese dynastic history, and a limited time exhibit featuring snuff bottles. The first puts a great context to the whole museum and the third was just amazing to see.

I still can’t believe there used to be a Chinatown here in San Diego! I wanted to explore this museum but, according to their website, they’ve been closed due to the pandemic. Hopefully, they will open up again soon! So much to learn and make sure that some history doesn’t repeat itself. PS there were lots of reasons why San Diego’s Chinatown vanished but it mostly had to do with “cleaning up” the slums in San Diego to get ready for the San Diego Exposition (world fair) in 1915. A San Diego writer for VoicesofSanDiego.org says, “officials had ordered 99 buildings in Chinatown” to be torn down and that San Diego’s Chinatown after that dwindled down after WWII. Imagine… our San Diego Convention Center’s location was our Chinatown.

Really great experience. My 7yo is interested in the Chinese culture and this was the perfect place for learn. Seasons greeted us at the door and was very interactive with my kids. They had a photo hunt for the kids too. Really beautiful items on display, great information.

Love this hidden gem of a museum. All history nuts and those who love to learn to be better humans must attend!

It is deceptively small because there is another gallery and gift shop across the street in another building where I believe they hold temporary art exhibits. That was the reason of my visiting. They're actually maybe paintings permanently on display that are rotated when exhibitions come in. Staff was most helpful and humorous. I enjoyed the visit very much and learned a lot

The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum’s permanent exhibition is housed in a mission-style building designed by Louis J. Gill, nephew and protégé of famed architect, Irving Gill. For 30 years, this structure housed the Chinese Community Church. By 1960, the Chinese community had relocated from downtown San Diego and the congregation built a new facility on 47th Street.

Great small museum - learned a great deal about old San Diego and the Chinese immigrants that lived here. There are also very insightful docents who provide interesting stories to the items in the museum. Recommend it!

I looked at the website before visiting and was excited to see the exhibits they advertised. However when we went there was only one crowded unorganized room with pieces on display. Less of a museum and more of a gift shop there were signs banning us from the second floor. The coolest thing was a koi pond out back. Definitely not worth the five dollar entry, the struggle to find parking, or the money I put in the parking meter.

Nice museum in walking distance from major hotels in the area. Nice collection of historic Chinese photographs and artifacts. The place is tiny. It takes half an hour to thoroughly go through and get a brief glimpse of Sang Diego China Town history.

Such an amazing compact way to appreciate the beauty of this culture. A nice way to unwind and refresh in the zen garden.

Very informative despite being a small museum. Thoroughly enjoyed my visit and the site itself is of historical significance.

Had a field trip there and they were very friendly and gave a good presentation that was hands on about the Qin Dynasty.

If you are into local, small and unique museum, this one is good for you.

Small but lovingly curated. They also have activities in conjunction with other groups, events, so check the website. Good historical descriptions; worth a visit.

Cheap entry and small exhibits. Not very busy and good history about the things on offer as well as local cultural history. The extra museum was closed when I went there and the museum is not much more than one large room and a small garden. It was nice to see much of the stuff was donated by locals

Small museum which displays history of Chinese in San Diego ,located downtown in two buildings.They have an annex across the street that has rotating exhibits.

This is an incredible local museum! I’ve walked by many times and it was well worth the $8 admission. I learned about the history of Chinese people who came to the US and to San Diego in particular. This provides a rich history of downtown San Diego. Love the miniature replicas of local Chinese businesses from the 1880s and 1940s! Lovely ancient Chinese relics as well! Enjoy!!

This place is a small but meaningfull piece of chinese history! 2nd sunday of every month is free. Staff is welcoming and knowlagable.

This was a fun place to visit and had some neat things to see. It is pretty small though and only took about 30 minutes to see everything.

Small museum with limited history of Chinese in San Diego. Interesting art history though.

Excellent special exhibit on acupuncture coming to the USA. Docent guided, informative. She took a small group, answered questions and allowed us as much time as we wanted. Very good. Part of admission to regular exhibits at the museum.

Very informative. Docent gave a lot of details on items on display at the museum and took us to the snuff bottles temporary exhibit.

Nice museum of comes history in San Diego located downtown. There after two buildings with rooms for exhibits and also presentations

A small museum. It shows the Chinese community in the early years of San Diego. Some interesting artifacts. Across from the museum is a pottrry exhibition which is good.

Love this place

Very interesting place with lots of pictures and memorabilia from the early days of Chinese immigrants in San Diego. It's not very big, but quite historic.

A group of us went down to China town into the museum down there it was fabulous I love all of their exhibits

Nice place.

Fabulous 😘😘😘

This is a nice museum. Standard museum stuff. I enjoyed learning about the Chinese laundries in SD. Wish that exhibit was a bit bigger and everything was more at eye level since all the irons are atop a tall dresser.

Not very big but there is a lot of interesting things. Real shame that the guy didn't know a lot if information to answer questions.

Had a friend visiting from out of town and he saw this and one of the tour guides. So we went we're nice little tour there was only at three of us in the group and it was informative and the tour guide was very nice and pleasant. Answered all our questions. If you're looking for something different to do you might try this

Compact but informative. The display on the history of Chinese laundries is a valuable contribution to immigrant studies. Take some time to relax at the Chinese garden at the back.

As advertised it is the place to go to learn and understand the history of Chinese culture in San Diego. Interesting to see the various artifacts and how the building had been moved from 1st/G st (Ralphs) to current location at 3rd/Jst. Also the koi pond in the back is a nice touch and worth visiting. They also have an annex across the street that has rotating exhibits.. As of this writing it was an students art exhibit..

I loved seeing the car ed cherrywood furniture and the collection of snuff bottles. :)

The docents give us an excellent history of the Chinese people in San Diego and the U.S. and the collection is splendid. The location is good too for transit users and walkers except there are no Chinese restaurants nearby.

This was amazing! Great place for kids and adults I loved it and so did my daughter! They have great staff!a

Very interesting and educational

Really nice things to see and learn their dragon culture

The "China" ceramics are illustrations of Asian craftsmanship.

Hidden gem. San Diego history you probably did not know. A plethora of information. Super cool!!!

(Translated by Google) It is a pity that the display of the exhibits is messy and there is no complete introduction to the history of Chinese immigrants. (Original) 展示品的擺設有點凌亂，對於華人移民的歷史也沒有完整介紹，實在可惜。

Good museum. Branch of the family may have lived during some of times depicted.

Very nice history and staff were very pleasant

Cool place to get some history

Very cool to see this in Downtown San Diego. The Chinese have a long history in San Diego and all of California. Open mainly daytime hours and closed Mo days I think.

This is a gem. Don't miss it. A quick visit will do.

Small but interesting and well organized.

Great contribution to our society. Love the kois

Not impress...

Nice place to visit in The Gaslamp District...Very touristy but well kept

Small museum but quite fascinating. Across the street they have another space where we saw exquisite paintings by a contemporary artist.

A lovely little place with a good assortment of Chinese history in San Diego and some items from China also. The garden is a pretty place to wander and see the koi..

Not worth the 5$ entry fee .. not for me atleast!

Great tour for my 7th graders! Everyone should go to learn about history in San Diego that not enough people know about!

Love this Museum, it has really changed.

Great museum to learn about Chinese history in San Diego.

My favorite activity to do when visiting San diego. Super educational with great staff. They were friendly and accommodating.

Extremely informative and the proprietors are welcoming. Highly recommended!