The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco is a major community-based, non-profit organization established in 1965 to foster the understanding and appreciation of Chinese and Chinese American art, history, and culture in the United States. The facilities of the Center, totaling 20,000 square feet, include a 299-seat auditorium, a 2,935 square-foot gallery, book shop, classroom, and offices. Centrally located between Chinatown and the Financial District, the Center attracts a broad spectrum of audiences from the Chinese community, the city at large, and the greater Bay Area, as well as visitors from all over the country.

The Center offers a variety of educational and cultural programs. These programs range from lectures, workshops, and classes to art exhibitions, dance and musical performances, and cultural exchanges—all of which enable members of the Chinese American community and the general public alike to gain a deeper knowledge of historical as well as contemporary Chinese and Chinese American culture.

The activities of the Center focus on art exhibitions, which are presented on a continuous, year-round basis—some organized by the Center and others on loan from other museums or cultural institutions. Major exhibitions of historical significance have included Chinese of America: 1786-1980 (a documentary exhibition on the history of Chinese Americans); Chinese Women of America—A Pictorial History (an exhibition accompanied by a catalogue published in conjunction with the University of Washington Press); Stories From China’s Past: Han Dynasty Pictorial Tomb Reliefs and Archaeological Objects from Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China, which toured to eight U.S. cities in 1987-88; Symbol and Adornment: Traditional Costumes and Jewelry from China’s Minorities, (in collaboration with the Cultural Palace Museum of Nationalities, Beijing, China); and Shiwan Ceramics: Beauty, Color, and Passion, which received funding support locally and from abroad.

Since 1981, the Center has increasingly developed programs of contemporary relevance, especially projects featuring Chinese artists. Contemporary Chinese Paintings: An Exhibition from the People’s Republic of China and Wu Guanzhong, A Contemporary Chinese Artist are shows that toured nationally, between respectively 1983 to 1985 and 1989 to 1991. Other exhibition projects feature emerging and established Chinese American artists, whose works represent not only important contributions to the art field, but also commentaries and reflections of a group of people in a particular time in history.

In its community role, the Center donates facilities and in-kind support for the Chinatown Community Arts Program of the San Francisco Art Commission and assists in coordinating its activities. By sponsoring certain events in conjunction with various cultural organizations and community groups in the San Francisco Bay Area (i.e. Chinese Cultural Productions, Chinese Folk Dance Association, Gu Zheng Society of San Francisco), it stimulates cooperation and expands resources and offerings among the many local groups interested in Chinese and Chinese American history and culture. The Center is an active member of the Chinese Community Program of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, a support group that assists the Museum in its community outreach. Research internships in genealogical studies engage the curiosity and interest of young Chinese Americans in learning about their culture and its origins. For the past three years, the Center has began a series of concerts featuring youth orchestras from the San Francisco Bay Area. Renowned musicians, such as violinist Cho-liang Lin and pianist Dennis Lee, are invited to talk about their experiences and interact with the audience. Heritage Walk docents from the Center, have introduced San Francisco Chinatown and its history to many out-of-town visitors and school-age children; tours are fully subscribed, especially during weekdays by school-age children from throughout the Bay Area.

Because of these national and international projects, the Center has become a hosting organization on the West Coast for visiting specialists from China and throughout the U.S., among them film producers, artists, musicians, craftsmen and others. Chinese and American professionals are able to meet and to exchange ideas and experiences at conferences, seminars, and receptions.

舊金山中華文化中心（ www.c-c-c.org ）， 隸屬舊金山中華文化基金會，是1965年正式成立的非營利機構。中心以傳承和弘揚華人及美國華裔的藝術、歷史和文化爲宗旨。該中心吸引了不少來自當地的華人社區成員、舊金山灣區的聽眾以及來自全美各地的遊客。

中心長年提供多元的文化項目： 包括藝術收藏展覽，講座論壇，電影放映，語言美術課程和文化交流活動。這些項目進一步促進著華僑和其他族裔體驗華人及美國華裔的傳統和當代文化。