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Oakland Asian Cultural Center
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388 9th StSte 290
(between Franklin St & Webster St)
Oakland, CA 94607
Neighborhood: Oakland Chinatown
(510) 637-0455
7 reviews for Oakland Asian Cultural Center
7 reviews in English
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Review from Andrew P.
Oakland, CA
6/7/2007
They graciously hosted last year's Mr. Hyphen event, thrown by Hyphen (an Asian American magazine) and are once again hosting this year's Mr. Hyphen. They rule!!
Check here for the event info:
http://hyphenmagazine.... -
Review from Cora P.
San Francisco, CA
3/20/2010 1 photo
This place is awesome and a fantastic resource for Asian culture (duh!). You can rent rooms or a big hall that seats over 200, and there is a stage to see performances. Sort of like a stage by a gymnasium with removable chairs. There are tons of classes here. Learn to play the Gu Zheng. Take martial arts classes, dancing classes and more. There are cool exhibits showing the oral history of Asians in Oakland. minus one star for the parking charges, they are predatory.
I found this information below about the Gu Zheng from a music store web site.
Gu Zheng was developed from an ancient zither called 'Se'. The name 'Zheng' was probably derived from the sound of the instrument. It was already a popular instrument during the Warring Dynasties(403BC - 221 BC) and even more so in the Qin Dynasty (221BC - 207BC). Silk strings were used traditionally, thus putting the zheng in the silk category of Chinese instrument classification.
Gu zheng comes in all sizes ranging from 18 strings to 26 strings. Playing range is about three to four octaves. Strings are threaded across a horizontal wooden sound box that has an arched surface, and are held up by individual bridges. It is tuned in pentatonic scale: do, re, mi, so, la. Player wears finger picks made out of tortoise shell on the inside of the fingers, plucking the strings with the right hand on the right side of the bridges. The left hand is placed on the left side of the bridges and controls vibrato and creates half tones by pushing the strings down.
Today only steel strings and nylon steel strings are used for the gu zheng. Although it is used in ensemble playing, the bigger sound box makes it an ideal solo instrument. -
Review from Zack A.
San Jose, CA
1/22/2011
I came here for a concert last week and fell in love with the building.
There is a huge courtyard surrounded by shops and offices. The second floor has a balcony walkway that lets you watch what goes on in the courtyard. A 25' diameter fountain has swoopy metal through which water is pumped, and the falling water completes the circle swoop back into the fountain. It is awesome. Also the place is noisy and full of people but somehow serene at the same time.
The Asian Cultural Center is along the North side of the enclosed courtyard. Take the escalator to the second floor from the main street and walk around to the entrance. The people working here are very friendly, and if I was having an event in Oakland, I would seriously consider this place. -
Review from k k.
San Leandro, CA
Updated - 6/15/2010
Excellent!!! Love Lucas. Everything was great. No complaints. Will write more later, but wanted to give some feedback.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/8/2010
We are going to have our wedding here in May. So far working with Lucas has been great. He's very… Read more »
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Review from Allan T.
San Francisco, CA
9/24/2009
This was the location of my buddy's wedding banquet. Had about 24 tables here and we had the stage here for performances and speeches etc. Staff was very friendly and helped us get things set up before the banquet and cleaned up pretty fast. Great place with parking directly underground in the building.
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Review from Derek L.
San Mateo, CA
2/20/2010
Amongst other events like Asian American women writers book and poetry readings or the Third World Strike, last year they had a cooking class series. I attended the Mongolian Dumpling class. It was great in that it was hands on, class size was manageable (about 15), and folks were friendly - ah, and you got to eat the dumplings at the end! Lots of cultural events throughout the year. Check them out.
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Review from Enny T.
Oakland, CA
8/31/2009
good place to have events! but... lots of regulations when it comes to hosting the event................. like extra $$$ for putting decorations up on the walls... or using their sound system.. you're already paying $1000+ for the place, and you think you would get a good package but nope, things on the walls and sound systems are extra costs..
