United States · District of Columbia · Washington
Chinatown, Washington — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Chinatown is a Chinese ethnic enclave in downtown Washington, one of the older quarters of the District of Columbia. The enclave dates to 1931. It sits at the northern edge of Penn Quarter, a short walk from the museums of the National Mall.
About Chinatown
Where to stay in Chinatown
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
A stay in Chinatown puts a visitor in the middle of downtown Washington, within walking distance of both the office core and the museum district. Hotels here favor sightseeing over quiet: the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum sit at the doorstep, and the National Mall is a straightforward walk south. In the evening, its restaurants and event venues pull in crowds from across downtown.
Beds skew to chain and business hotels. Travelers who want the Smithsonian museums and central Washington on foot are well placed here.
About Chinatown
What are the main landmarks in Chinatown?
The neighborhood's headline sights sit in one downtown building at its southern edge: the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum share the same galleries. The National Building Museum stands a short walk east, and the International Spy Museum draws visitors just south in Penn Quarter. From here the Smithsonian's great museums on the National Mall come into reach on foot: the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of American History, the National Air and Space Museum, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The National Gallery of Art sits nearby. West along the reflecting pools stand the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
What is the history of Chinatown?
The term Chinatown describes an ethnic enclave of Chinese people set apart within a larger city, a pattern found in urban centers across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Such districts trace back centuries, with the earliest rooted in the trade networks of imperial China. Washington's Chinatown dates to 1931.
From that base the community built the shops, associations, and mutual-aid networks that gave the quarter its identity. The neighborhood has kept that Chinese imprint even as the District of Columbia grew up around it.
Where is Chinatown?
Chinatown sits in central Washington. It fills a compact grid between the downtown office district and Penn Quarter, which borders it to the south. Its southern blocks reach the shared building of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, with the National Building Museum a few streets east.
The National Mall opens a short walk south.
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Updated July 2026