The most fascinating element of San Francisco Chinatown is the Chinese people who make it up. For those who do not live within the area, it can be somewhat of a daunting task to learn about the culture of Chinatown and its people on an individual level. It is for this reason, that descriptions such as "exotic," "mysterious," and "authentic," have been associated with it.

Chinatown is an enclave, and it has the ability to provide its inhabitants with every basic need and more. For some, there isn't a reason to leave. The older generations continue to use Chinese as its predominant language, making mastery of the English language difficult at best.

In addition, it is not uncommon that residents of Chinatown work anywhere from eight to twelve hours a day. As a result, Chinatown is a very close-knit community that strongly resembles a Chinese way of life that many had left behind.