Opinion | Focus Plaza in Los Angeles is a mall full of memories of a China that no longer exists, and its renovation reflects changes in Chinese community

Reporter Frank Shyong reminisces about what Focus Plaza, a Chinese strip mall in Los Angeles soon to undergo renovation, meant for the local Chinese community

It represented the efforts of a generation of immigrants to make a home from flavours, smells and feelings, he says, adding he’ll ‘miss the Focus Plaza I knew’

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A fountain outside Focus Plaza, a Chinese mall in Los Angeles in the United States. Reporter Frank Shyong reminisces about visits there and reflects on how its planned renovation reflects changes in the local Chinese community. Photo: TNS

Published: 11:15am, 1 Mar 2023Updated: 1:48pm, 1 Mar 2023

Focus Plaza, in the southern Californian city of San Gabriel in the US, has always lived up to its nickname: Chinese Disneyland.

The giant Chinese strip mall is anchored by a Chinese grocery store, has two levels of restaurants, jewellery and ginseng shops, and a glass-front department store with a dim sum restaurant on the top floor. Its car park fits more than 1,000 cars, but that does not necessarily mean it is easy to find a spot.

The plaza’s opening in 1990 signalled that the centre of the Chinese community in Southern California had shifted east from Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles.

Now, owner Tawa Supermarket Inc – which runs the American supermarket chain Ranch 99 – is planning a renovation that will transform Focus Plaza into a more modern, affluent commercial centre.

A chef prepares duck for indoor dinning at HK VIP Kitchen in the Focus Plaza. Photo: TNS

“It’s this shift from faux California Mediterranean to ultra-modern design chic, which is probably more how modern Chinese immigrants and second-generation Asian Americans see themselves,” says James Zarsadiaz, a history professor at the University of San Francisco.