"Forget it Jake, it's China Town"

I took a trip into downtown China Town yesterday to explore the area. I was very surprised to see tons of avant garde art galleries going in. It really is fun to see places change and grow over time. Many of the stores were open by appointment only- so we couldn't see everything. But there were a few notable stores there. "Realm"---was in the historic China Town plaza. It was full of very designer-y items to decorate your house with---as well as books and jewelry. It had a very Chinese as well as Sea shore influence. Another cool store was "Fong's- Gift Shop," which is close by the plaza, down Chungking road. It had some really pretty Asian jewelry- and I enjoyed looking around here.

This was a wishing well in the middle of the China Town plaza---It had all these little Buddhas around it- with words like "vacation" "love" "happy" "long life". I couldn't help feel tranquil and content when I looked at it- and when I threw in my penny.

The China Town website it a really good reference to see what shops are there and what events are going on in the area. The stores say if they are appointment only or not. China town is generally located at Broadway and Hill streets in downtown Los Angeles.

http://www.chinatownla.com/