Things to Do in Chinatown Houston: Asiatown Guide

At a glance

Where: Bellaire Blvd in southwest Houston, from Fondren Rd west to just past Beltway 8
Hours: Varies by business; check each official site before you go
Cost: Free to wander; Teo Chew Temple admission is free
Parking: Free surface lots at most shopping plazas; busiest at weekend lunch
Time needed: Half a day for a food-and-shopping loop; a full day with temples

Drive west on Bellaire Boulevard past Fondren Road and the street signs start speaking three languages. Below the English name you'll see 百利大道 in Chinese and, a little farther west, Đại Lộ Sàigòn in Vietnamese. That's your cue: you're in Houston's Chinatown, which many locals and Visit Houston now call Asiatown, because the plazas here hold Chinese bakeries, Vietnamese noodle shops, Korean barbecue, Indian and Pakistani kitchens, foot-massage parlors and karaoke rooms, often side by side in the same strip.

It's one road, three languages and more dumplings than you'll get through in a day.

This guide covers what to do here beyond ordering lunch: the malls and markets, two Buddhist temples, a festival that takes over the district every Lunar New Year, and the small rituals (foot rubs, KTV, a bakery crawl) that make a visit feel like a trip. For the full restaurant rundown, use our Houston Chinatown food guide. Hours change often here, so check each official site before you go.

Where Chinatown is, and how we define it

For this guide, Chinatown and Asiatown means the Bellaire Blvd corridor from Fondren Road west to Beltway 8, plus the blocks just west of the Beltway, where Hong Kong City Mall and the Vietnamese restaurants of Little Saigon sit. The Southwest Management District draws Chinatown more widely, roughly from Gessner and Redding Road west to Beltway 8 and from Westpark Drive south to Beechnut Street. Beltway 8 has long served as the informal line between the mostly Chinese plazas to the east and the Vietnamese ones to the west, though today the mix runs in both directions.

Don't confuse it with the City of Bellaire, the separate small city a few miles east on the same boulevard. That's a different trip, covered in our guide to things to do in Bellaire.

Five things even locals don't know

Houston's first Chinatown was downtown. It grew up east of downtown in what is now EaDo. The first businesses of the Bellaire Blvd Chinatown opened in 1983, starting with Diho Square.
Bellaire Blvd has an official Vietnamese name. In 2015 the city added Vietnamese street names and signs, and this stretch became Saigon Boulevard (Đại Lộ Sàigòn).
A streetcar once ran on Bellaire Blvd. The "Toonerville Trolley" carried passengers along the boulevard from 1910 until buses replaced it in 1927.
Many shops here are owned, not rented. Many of Chinatown's plazas are "retail condos," where businesses buy their space instead of leasing it.
Texas once named a day after a temple opening nearby. When Jade Buddha Temple was inaugurated on June 2, 1990, a state senator, speaking for the governor, proclaimed June 2 "Texas Buddhism Day."

15 things to do in Chinatown Houston

1. Read the street signs

It costs nothing and it's the best orientation you'll get. Look for the Chinese characters 百利大道 under Bellaire Blvd east of the Beltway and the Vietnamese name farther west. Snap one for the group chat.

2. Walk through Hong Kong City Mall

Hong Kong City Mall, at 11205 Bellaire Blvd, opened in 1999 and is treated as the symbolic center of the district, with a traditional Chinese gate (a paifang) out front. Visit Houston calls it the largest Asian indoor mall in the southeastern United States. Inside you'll find restaurants, bubble tea, gift shops and services under one roof, which makes it the best rainy-day or August-afternoon stop on the boulevard.

3. Shop Hong Kong Food Market

The mall's anchor, Hong Kong Food Market, is the grocery run Visit Houston tells every visitor to make, for Asian groceries and produce. Even if you're not cooking, walk the aisles: the snack and sauce shelves alone are worth twenty minutes, and you'll leave with gifts nobody else will bring.

4. Do a dessert crawl at Dun Huang Plaza

Dun Huang Plaza, at 9889 Bellaire Blvd, is a two-story shopping center that Visit Houston singles out for its dessert shops and bakeries. Our move: pick one pastry, one drink and one cold dessert at three different counters, then share. It's a better use of an hour than any single sit-down meal.

5. Visit Teo Chew Temple

Teo Chew Temple, at 10600 Turtlewood Court in southwest Houston's Chinatown, is a Vietnamese Buddhist temple that Visit Houston lists as open daily with free admission. Inside, the walls are lined with deities in gold; outside, toss a coin in the wishing well for luck. Appropriate clothing is required, so dress modestly, keep your voice down and be respectful of worshippers.

6. Make the short trip to Jade Buddha Temple

Run by the Texas Buddhist Association, Jade Buddha Temple sits at 6969 Westbranch Drive in southwest Houston, a short drive from the Bellaire Blvd plazas. The temple was completed in 1990 and has held weekly Sunday English-language Buddhist classes and meditation since 1991. Check the association's site for events before visiting; its calendar includes ceremonies around Lunar New Year and the Buddha's birthday.

7. Go to the Lunar New Year Festival

The Chinese Community Center has hosted a Lunar New Year Festival in Asiatown every year since 2003, at its campus at 9800 Town Park Drive, near Bellaire Blvd. Expect lion and dragon dances, kung fu demonstrations, calligraphy and zodiac crafts, and a bazaar of more than 50 vendors. Recent festivals have offered free parking lots plus a free shuttle from METRO's Westchase Park and Ride. Dates change with the lunar calendar, so watch ccchouston.org and our festivals hub.

8. Take a guided Asian Heritage Tour

The Chinese Community Center's Asian Heritage Tours walk groups through Asiatown and the nearby Mahatma Gandhi District, covering food, rituals and local displays. Tours need a minimum of 12 people, prices vary by tour, and lunch is on you. It's a good pick for an office outing, a school group or a family reunion. Details are at ccchouston.org/aht.

9. Get a foot rub

Reflexology parlors are an Asiatown institution, and Visit Houston points to several off Bellaire Blvd known for good prices and strong hands. Thirty minutes in a recliner after a long lunch is the most Houston thing you can do with a Saturday. For a full bathhouse day, see our Houston spa guide.

10. Book a private karaoke room

KTV, karaoke in a private room you book by the hour, is the standard way to end a group dinner here. Visit Houston names Yes KTV, Happy Zone KTV and Neway Restaurant & Lounge among the district's karaoke spots. Reserve ahead for weekend nights and birthday groups.

11. Eat Viet-Cajun crawfish where it started

Crawfish & Noodles, at 11360 Bellaire Blvd, calls itself Houston's original Viet-Cajun crawfish restaurant, and it's on the Little Saigon side of the Beltway. Go in season, order by the pound and wear something you don't love. Our Houston crawfish guide covers the season and the rest of the Viet-Cajun map.

12. Order dim sum with a crowd

Weekend dim sum is the district's great social meal: bring at least four people so you can order widely, go early, and point at whatever rolls past. Our guide to the best Chinese food in Houston has the picks.

13. Eat pho and banh mi in Little Saigon

West of Beltway 8, Bellaire Blvd turns Vietnamese. Visit Houston points to Nam Giao for the cooking of Hue in central Vietnam. Start with our best Vietnamese restaurants in Houston.

14. Graze the Kim Son buffet

Kim Son's Bellaire location, at 10603 Bellaire Blvd, is the family's all-you-can-eat Asian buffet, a useful choice when your group can't agree on a cuisine.

15. Bargain-hunt on Harwin Drive

A short drive from the Bellaire plazas, Harwin Drive is what Visit Houston calls Asiatown's bargain shopping district, packed with quirky shops selling everything from phone accessories to jewelry. Pair it with a Chinatown lunch for a full day out.

Save this: the Bellaire Blvd half-day route

Late morning: park at Dun Huang Plaza and do the three-counter dessert crawl.
Before noon: drive to Teo Chew Temple for a quiet 20 minutes.
Lunch: dim sum or pho, depending on which side of the Beltway you land.
Early afternoon: Hong Kong City Mall for the gate photo, bubble tea and a lap of Hong Kong Food Market.
Mid-afternoon: 30 minutes of foot reflexology.
Dinner: Viet-Cajun crawfish in season, then a KTV room if your group has the stamina.

Tips and the best time to visit

Carry cash. Visit Houston notes that many Asiatown businesses are cash only.
Go early on weekends. Dim sum dining rooms and plaza parking lots fill fast at weekend lunchtime.
Come hungry, eat small. Order shareable plates at several stops instead of one big meal.
Use the malls when it's hot. Hong Kong City Mall and Dun Huang Plaza are the indoor stops on a summer afternoon.
Plan around Lunar New Year. The festival weekend is the district's busiest. Go for the lion dances, or avoid it if you just want a quiet lunch.

Getting there and parking

Chinatown is in southwest Houston, outside the 610 Loop. By car, take I-69/US-59 to Bellaire Blvd, or Beltway 8 to its Bellaire Blvd exit, then drive the corridor east or west. Most plazas have free surface parking, though spaces are tight and the lots are busy at peak meal times. METRO local buses run along Bellaire Blvd; use the trip planner at ridemetro.org for routes and times.

Food nearby

Start with the Chinatown food guide linked above for the full restaurant map, then branch out with our best restaurants in Bellaire and Chinatown list.

Nearby

Westchase, up Beltway 8 to the north, has hotels and offices that make it a practical base; see things to do in Westchase.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Chinatown in Houston?

Houston's Chinatown is in southwest Houston along Bellaire Blvd, roughly between Fondren Rd and Beltway 8, with Little Saigon continuing just west of the Beltway. The original Chinatown was east of downtown, in what is now EaDo.

Is Houston's Chinatown called Asiatown?

Yes. Many Houstonians and Visit Houston use Asiatown, because the district mixes Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, Pakistani and other Asian businesses.

What is the biggest mall in Houston's Chinatown?

Hong Kong City Mall at 11205 Bellaire Blvd, anchored by Hong Kong Food Market. Visit Houston calls it the largest Asian indoor mall in the southeastern United States.

Is parking free in Houston's Chinatown?

Most shopping plazas along Bellaire Blvd have free surface parking. Lots fill quickly at weekend lunchtime, so arrive early or late.

When is the Lunar New Year festival in Houston's Chinatown?

The Chinese Community Center at 9800 Town Park Dr has held a Lunar New Year Festival in Asiatown every year since 2003, usually on a weekend near the new year. Check ccchouston.org for the date.

Do businesses in Houston's Chinatown take cards?

Many do, but Visit Houston notes that many Asiatown businesses are cash only, so bring some cash.

Things to Do in Chinatown Houston: A Bellaire Blvd Guide