Fodor's Expert Review Barrio Chino

We should get one thing straight about the capital's Chinatown: San José is not San Francisco. But the Chinese government has financed the transformation of five blocks of Calle 9 into a pleasant pedestrian mall. A large arch modeled on the architecture of the Tang Dynasty marks the north entrance to the street and several Chinese–Costa Rican businesses—mostly groceries and nail salons, but nary an Asian restaurant—line the walkway.