Chinese Community • Los Angeles
Taiwanese Community in Los Angeles
83,000+ Taiwanese Americans in LA metro (2008 ACS) • Largest Taiwanese community outside Taiwan • Hsi Lai Temple: largest Buddhist temple in Western Hemisphere • 626 Night Market: 100K attendees • FAPA founded LA 1982
The Los Angeles metro is home to an estimated 83,000+ Taiwanese Americans — the largest Taiwanese community in the world outside Taiwan itself, and nearly a quarter of all Taiwanese Americans in the United States. Taiwanese immigrants transformed the San Gabriel Valley starting in the 1970s, turning Monterey Park into the first majority-Asian city in the continental United States. Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights — 15 acres, opened 1988 — is the largest Buddhist temple in the Western Hemisphere. The 626 Night Market in Arcadia, founded by Taiwanese Americans in 2012, draws 100,000 attendees per event and is the largest Asian night market in America. 99 Ranch Market, the largest Asian supermarket chain in the US, was founded in 1984 by Taiwanese immigrant Roger H. Chen. And Dai Ho in Temple City, MICHELIN-listed, serves beef noodle soup good enough that lines form before doors open. The SGV is not where Taiwanese Americans settled — it is what they built.
Last updated: March 2026 • Full Chinese Community guide for Los Angeles →
Why Taiwanese Families Choose Los Angeles
No other city in America compares to Los Angeles for Taiwanese immigrants. This is not marketing — it is demographic fact. The SGV has the deepest Taiwanese institutional infrastructure of any American metro: temples, political organizations, professional networks, language schools, cultural festivals, and a restaurant scene that Taiwanese food writers visit specifically because it preserves dishes that have disappeared from Taiwan’s own rapidly changing cities. When Taiwanese immigrants ask “where in America should we go,” the honest answer for anyone who wants to live within a fully formed Taiwanese community is: Los Angeles.
The professional case is equally strong. The SGV sits between two major employment poles: Silicon Beach (Playa Vista and Santa Monica — Google, Amazon, Snap, and dozens of tech companies) to the west, and the broader greater LA tech and entertainment industry accessible by freeway. The Taiwanese tech professional network — built over 50 years through Monte Jade, NATEA, and informal alumni connections — is the strongest Taiwanese professional support system in the US. Second-generation Taiwanese Americans from the SGV include Jerry Yang (co-founder of Yahoo), Steve Chen (co-founder of YouTube), and Jensen Huang (co-founder of Nvidia — now the most valuable semiconductor company in the world). These are not coincidences. They are the product of a community that treated engineering and entrepreneurship as values transmitted across generations.
And there is the identity dimension, which matters deeply to this community. Los Angeles is the birthplace of Taiwanese American political advocacy. The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) was founded in this city in February 1982, when Taiwan was still under martial law. The Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL) was founded here in 1985. The SGV is not neutral ground between Taiwan and China — it is the capital of the global Taiwanese diaspora. Coming from Taiwan, asserting Taiwanese identity, and building an American life without sacrificing your sense of where you came from: this community was designed, deliberately, to make that possible.
Where Taiwanese Families Live in Los Angeles
The Taiwanese settlement arc in the SGV follows a clear pattern of upward mobility over five decades. It started in Monterey Park in the 1970s and expanded east and north toward wealthier suburbs as the community prospered. Understanding this arc tells you what each city represents today.
The Founding Story: Frederic Hsieh & Monterey Park
The Taiwanese transformation of the SGV begins with one man: Frederic Hsieh (1945–1999), a Taiwanese-born real estate developer who formed Mandarin Realty Company in the early 1970s and began marketing Monterey Park — then a mostly white, working-class suburb — to potential immigrants through advertisements in Taiwanese and Hong Kong newspapers. He called it “the Asian Beverly Hills” and pointed out that the area code included the lucky number 8. From 1970 to 1990, Monterey Park’s Asian population quadrupled. By the 1990 Census, Monterey Park was the first city in the continental United States with an Asian majority population (57% Asian (ACS 2022)). One man’s real estate vision became the foundation of the largest Taiwanese community in the world outside Taiwan.
Monterey Park — The Original “Little Taipei” (~45% Asian (ACS 2022))
The founding city. Now more demographically mixed as Mainland Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean immigrants have joined, but still home to original Taiwanese institutions including Good Shepherd Taiwanese Presbyterian Church (606 S. Atlantic Blvd) and classic restaurants. The commercial corridors — Atlantic Blvd, Garvey Ave, and Garfield Ave — remain active with restaurants, boba shops, and Chinese-owned businesses. Barnes Memorial Park — venue of the annual Taiwanese American Heritage Week Festival — is the symbolic heart of the original community. Monterey Park is where the story began, and walking Atlantic Blvd on a weekend still feels like the SGV as it was intended.
Arcadia — The Mainstream Taiwanese Hub (~41% Chinese (ACS 2022)/Taiwanese)
Arcadia is the current center of mass of Taiwanese American life in the SGV — where the community is present in large enough numbers to shape the character of the city without the older “gateway immigrant” density of Monterey Park. The Arcadia Unified School District is a major draw for families with children (consistently high-rated). Commercial life concentrates along W. Duarte Rd (Sinbala at 651 W. Duarte Rd, Yi Mei Deli, dense boba corridor) and Baldwin Ave (99 Ranch Market at 400 S Baldwin Ave inside Westfield Santa Anita). Middle to upper-middle class; larger homes, quieter streets than Monterey Park. This is where most new Taiwanese arrivals with professional backgrounds land first.
Temple City — The Dining Destination (~45% Asian (ACS 2022))
Temple City has a notably Taiwanese character in its restaurant culture — writers have described Las Tunas Dr and Temple City Blvd as corridors where Asian cuisine has essentially displaced all other options. This is not an exaggeration. Dai Ho (MICHELIN-listed beef noodle) and Bull Demon King are both on Temple City Blvd. Grace Taiwanese Presbyterian Church (9723 Garibaldi Ave) serves the Taiwanese Presbyterian community here. More residential and quieter than Arcadia; many Taiwanese families who live in Temple City work in Arcadia or the broader SGV but prefer Temple City’s calmer pace.
San Marino — The Aspirational Enclave (~58% Asian (ACS 2022))
San Marino is the endpoint of the Taiwanese upward mobility arc. With the highest Asian percentage of any SGV city (58%), the San Marino Unified School District ranked among the highest in California, and home prices well above $2 million, San Marino represents where established, wealthy Taiwanese families aspire to settle. The city preserves its residential character with strict zoning — minimal commercial development — and is primarily reached by families who have already built wealth in the SGV before moving here. For new arrivals: San Marino is a medium-term goal, not a landing spot.
Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights & Diamond Bar — The Eastern SGV
Rowland Heights was nicknamed “Little Taipei” (and informally “Yang Ming Shan” after Taipei’s affluent residential hills) during the 1980s–90s peak of affluent Taiwanese settlement. The eastern SGV is the zone of Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple (3456 Glenmark Dr, Hacienda Heights) — the spiritual landmark of the entire Taiwanese Buddhist community in the West. The commercial corridor along Colima Rd and Nogales St near Puente Hills Mall remains active, though the Taiwanese character has been diluted as Mainland Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese populations have grown. Rowland Heights overall is ~60% Asian (ACS 2022). Diamond Bar (34% Asian (ACS 2022)) and Walnut complete the eastern arc — upper-middle-class suburbs with strong schools and larger homes than the western SGV.
Taiwanese Organizations
LA’s Taiwanese organizational ecosystem is among the most developed of any diaspora group in the United States — spanning civic advocacy, business, faith, culture, and professional development. It took 50 years to build. New arrivals inherit it.
Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL)
Founded 1985 in Los Angeles • Rosemead, CA • tacl.org
One of the largest and oldest Taiwanese organizations in the United States. TACL’s programs are explicitly Taiwanese American identity-focused: Leadership Conference, Political Internship, Journalism Internship, Entertainment Internship, High School Scholarship, Leadership Identity Development (LID) camps, Leading Youth Forward (LYF) camps, and Junior Taiwanese American Student Association (JTASA). The young professional arm is TAP-LA (tapla.org). TACL is not a generic “Asian American” organization — it is specifically Taiwanese, which is intentional and reflects the community’s long commitment to maintaining a distinct identity.
Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) — Los Angeles Chapter
Founded February 1982 in Los Angeles (national HQ now in Washington, D.C.) • fapa.org
Los Angeles is the birthplace of Taiwanese American political advocacy. FAPA was founded here in 1982, during the period of Taiwan’s martial law (in force until 1987), with the mission to build worldwide support for Taiwan’s democracy, sovereignty, and independence. Founding president Trong Chai led a movement that grew from LA into a national force. FAPA has since advocated for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, briefed U.S. policymakers and media, and connected the diaspora to Taiwan’s democratic movement. For politically engaged Taiwanese immigrants, the LA chapter is not a historical footnote — it is the origin point.
Taiwan Center Foundation of Greater Los Angeles (TCGLA)
Alhambra, CA (relocated from Rosemead, April 2025) • (626) 307-4881 • taiwancenter.org
Cultural and community center programming for the broader Taiwanese American community. Programs include Lunar New Year banquets, Christmas charity events, Miss Taiwanese America pageant, Taiwan Center Chorus, dancing and language classes, table tennis, social services. Co-organizes the annual Taiwanese American Heritage Week Festival in Monterey Park (see Arts & Culture section).
Taiwanese American Chamber of Commerce of Greater LA (TACCLA)
Founded 1980 • San Gabriel, CA • taccla.org
Business networking and economic development for Taiwanese American businesses in Greater LA, with approximately 400 members from various industries. The youth arm, Taiwanese American Junior Chamber of Commerce (TJCCLA) (founded 2000, tjccla.org), serves ages 21–40. The chamber building also hosts the Cerritos Chinese School language program — a deliberate pairing of business and language preservation under one roof.
Taiwanese Association of America (TAA)
Founded 1970 (originally Formosa Club of America) • Multiple SGV chapters
The oldest general-purpose cultural and social association for Taiwanese immigrants in LA — predating most other organizations. Multiple regional chapters in the SGV: TAA-East San Gabriel Valley, Northwest Taiwan Association, SC South Bay TAA. Organizes cultural and social events across the community calendar. For new arrivals looking for the widest social network and least politically specific affiliation, the TAA chapters are often the first point of entry.
Temples & Churches
Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple — Largest Buddhist Temple in the Western Hemisphere
3456 Glenmark Dr, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745 • hsilai.org
Built 1988, opened to the public 1988. “Hsi Lai” means “Coming to the West.” Located on 15 acres with Ming and Qing dynasty architectural style, the temple is the North American center of the Fo Guang Shan order — the Taiwanese Humanistic Buddhism organization founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun in 1967 in Taiwan. One of the “Four Great Mountains” of Taiwanese Buddhism. Programs include English Dharma classes (Sundays 9:00–10:30am), English meditation (Sundays 11am–noon), retreats, a Dharma school for children, and charitable programs. The temple hosts major Taiwanese Buddhist festivals including Lunar New Year celebrations, Buddha’s Birthday (Vesak), and cultural programs year-round. Even for Taiwanese families who are not Buddhist practitioners, Hsi Lai is a cultural landmark and orienting symbol — the most visited Chinese American religious site in the American West.
Tzu Chi Foundation — National Headquarters, San Dimas
National HQ: 1100 S Valley Center Ave, San Dimas, CA 91773 • tzuchi.us
One of the world’s largest Buddhist humanitarian organizations, founded by Buddhist nun Cheng Yen in Hualien, Taiwan in 1966. Tzu Chi established in California in 1985 and designated the San Dimas site as its U.S. National HQ in 2001. Programs in the LA area include medical and dental outreach for low-income residents, mobile food pantry, wildfire disaster relief, Tzu Chi Academy children’s education, and Happy Campus school programs. Tzu Chi is a community anchor for Taiwanese families who practice socially engaged Buddhism; the San Dimas HQ functions as the spiritual and charitable center of all U.S. Taiwanese Buddhist philanthropy. Service centers also in West LA, Northridge, and Cerritos.
Taiwanese Presbyterian Church Network
Taiwan has one of the highest Protestant church attendance rates in Asia, and Presbyterian churches carry particular significance — the Taiwan Presbyterian Church has historically been a voice for Taiwan’s democratic movement, giving these congregations a dual function as faith community and identity-preservation space. In the SGV:
Good Shepherd Taiwanese Presbyterian Church — 606 S. Atlantic Blvd., Monterey Park, CA 91754 • (626) 282-1747. One of the original Taiwanese congregations in the SGV, with roots in the Monterey Park founding era.
Grace Taiwanese Presbyterian Church — 9723 Garibaldi Ave, Temple City, CA 91780 • (626) 286-0123. Serving the Temple City Taiwanese community.
Formosan Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles (FPCLA) — fpcla.org. The Presbyterian tradition in Taiwan used the Romanized Taiwanese Hokkien alphabet (Pe’h-&overline;oê-jī) to promote literacy and preserve the Hokkien language. For Taiwanese elders who grew up speaking Hokkien (Tâi-gí), the Presbyterian church network is the primary institutional space in LA where that language is still heard.
Taiwanese Restaurants & Food
Eating through the SGV’s Taiwanese food scene is one of the fastest ways to orient to this community. Temple City’s Las Tunas Drive and Temple City Blvd is the current destination dining corridor. Arcadia’s W. Duarte Rd is the everyday Taiwanese comfort food corridor. And for breakfast, Yi Mei has been serving the community since 1978.
Dai Ho Restaurant — MICHELIN-Listed Beef Noodle
9339 Las Tunas Dr, Temple City, CA
MICHELIN Guide-listed. The most acclaimed Taiwanese beef noodle soup in Los Angeles — described as “one of the best renditions in the city.” Menu also includes sesame dry noodles, beef tripe, and pork shank. Opens at 11:30am; lines form before the doors open. Arrive early or expect a wait. Beef noodle soup in Taiwan is what ramen is in Japan — a national identity dish with intense regional variation — and Dai Ho’s version satisfies that standard.
Bull Demon King
5953 Temple City Blvd., Temple City, CA
Beef shanks braised for hours in a 12-hour broth. Another Temple City destination for Taiwanese beef noodle devotees. The name is a reference to a classic Chinese literary monster — in the Taiwanese food context, it signals that the broth is “fiercely” good. Pairs well with a Dai Ho visit to compare the two temple city styles in one afternoon.
Sinbala (LA SinBaLa) — Arcadia Institution
651 W. Duarte Rd F, Arcadia, CA 91007 • (626) 446-0886 • lasinbala.com
Hours: Mon, Wed–Sun 11:00am–2:30pm and 4:30–8:00pm; closed Tuesday
A long-standing SGV institution representing old-school Taiwanese comfort food. Signature items: Sinbala Sausage (the house specialty), Fried Onion Pancake, Spicy Beef Noodle Soup, Pork Chop Rice, and Spicy Wontons. Taiwanese bento and rice plates in the tradition of Taiwan’s bian dang culture. The Rowland Heights location has permanently closed; Arcadia is the primary location. For Taiwanese families, Sinbala is a nostalgia touchstone — this is what you ate on weekday lunches in Taiwan.
Yi Mei Deli — Taiwanese Breakfast Since 1978
San Gabriel: 416 E. Las Tunas Dr. #A, San Gabriel, CA 91776 • yimeideli.com
Also: Monrovia (943 W Duarte Rd), Chino Hills
“The Original Taiwanese Breakfast Since 1978.” Nearly 50 years of serving shao bing (sesame flatbread), you tiao (fried dough stick), fan tuan (rice rolls), and traditional deli items. Taiwanese families have been making the weekend pilgrimage here for two generations. One of the oldest and most beloved Taiwanese breakfast institutions in Los Angeles — and a reminder that this community’s food culture was already deeply embedded in the SGV before many of today’s residents were born.
More Taiwanese Restaurants
- Hui Tou Xiang — 704 W Las Tunas Dr #5, San Gabriel (also Hollywood) • huitouxiang.com — Artisan beef noodle soup and excellent Xiao Long Bao; described by multiple reviewers as among the best noodle broths in LA.
- Liang’s Village Cuisine — Arcadia — Spicy broth beef noodle soup with pickled vegetables, red braised beef, thick noodles.
- Xiang Ji Arcadia — Arcadia — Authentic beef noodle soup and dumplings; known for braised meat and tendon.
- Good Shine Kitchen — 235 S. Garfield Ave., Monterey Park — Taiwanese comfort food: simmered and fried meats, seafood, soups, noodles, rice dishes, oyster pancakes (o-a-jian).
Boba Culture: Invented in Taiwan, Perfected in Arcadia
Boba milk tea was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s and brought to Southern California by Taiwanese immigrants in the 1990s. The San Gabriel Valley became the dominant U.S. region for boba — the word “boba” itself (as distinct from “bubble tea”) originated in SGV usage. Today boba shops in the SGV function as social gathering spaces equivalent to cafes or bars, with the highest density along W. Duarte Rd in Arcadia and Las Tunas Dr in Temple City. For Taiwanese newcomers, the boba shop is where community actually happens — where you run into people from your old neighborhood in Taipei, where second-generation Taiwanese Americans study, and where the Taiwanese American social network activates in real life. 99 Ranch Market (400 S Baldwin Ave, Arcadia) — founded in 1984 by Taiwanese immigrant Roger H. Chen — is the full-service grocery anchor for Taiwanese pantry staples, fresh produce, and prepared foods.
Language Schools & Heritage Education
- Cerritos Chinese School at TACCLA — 1045 Valley Blvd, Suite A211, San Gabriel, CA 91776 • cerritoschineseschool.org — Traditional Chinese Mandarin Learning Center (TCML) operating from inside the Taiwanese chamber of commerce — a deliberate pairing of language preservation with the Taiwanese business community.
- San Gabriel Valley Chinese Cultural Association (SGVCCA) — Hacienda Heights area • Founded 1968 • sgvcca.com — Offers lion and dragon dancing, guzheng, Chinese watercolor, calligraphy, martial arts, crafts, and language classes for all ages. One of the oldest cultural education organizations in the SGV.
- Sun Yat Sen Chinese Institute — Founded 1982 • syschineseinstitute.wordpress.com — Nonprofit serving SGV and LA area; Mandarin Chinese classes for children and adults.
- Wilson Elementary School — Mandarin Dual Language Immersion (MDLI) — San Gabriel Unified School District — For Taiwanese families with young children, this program maintains Mandarin within the public school system. Verify Traditional vs. Simplified Chinese character emphasis with the school directly.
Note on Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-gí): The heritage language of the majority Hoklo Taiwanese population — distinct from Mandarin — has no dedicated school in the LA area. The Presbyterian church network (Good Shepherd Taiwanese Presbyterian, Grace Taiwanese Presbyterian) is the primary institutional space where Tâi-gí is still heard and used among Taiwanese elders in the SGV. For families prioritizing Hokkien language preservation, these churches are the practical access point.
Arts, Culture & Community Events
626 Night Market — Largest Asian Night Market in America
Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA • Summer weekends • 626nightmarket.com
Founded in 2012 by Taiwanese American entrepreneurs Jonny C. Hwang and Janet Hwang, explicitly modeled on Taipei’s iconic Shilin Night Market. Now the largest night market in the United States — each 3-day event draws up to 100,000 attendees with 250+ food, merchandise, and craft vendors plus live art and music. The 626 Night Market pioneered the Asian night market concept in America, sparking 20+ similar events nationwide by 2025. The move to Santa Anita Park (after the inaugural event at Old Town Pasadena drew unexpectedly massive crowds) reflects the scale of Taiwanese American cultural ambition in the SGV. Attending once as a new arrival is the single best orientation to what Taiwanese American cultural life looks, sounds, and tastes like in America.
Taiwanese American Heritage Week Festival
Barnes Memorial Park (Memorial Bowl), 350 S McPherrin Ave, Monterey Park, CA • Annual, typically mid-May • Free admission (including parking)
Founded 2000 by the Taiwan Center Foundation of Greater Los Angeles following a 1999 Congressional declaration of Taiwanese American Heritage Week. Now in its 25th year. Features 30+ booths of traditional Taiwanese food, cultural performances (folk dance, a cappella, instrumental music, puppetry), arts and crafts. Co-presented with the Asian Pacific Community Fund and LA City Department of Cultural Affairs. The Heritage Week Festival is the more intimate, identity-focused complement to the 626 Night Market’s commercial scale — this is where community gathers for shared cultural expression rather than entertainment.
Professional Networks: Monte Jade & NATEA
Monte Jade Science & Technology Association — Southern California (SCMJ) — Founded February 23, 2002 • scmj.org — The Southern California arm of the global Monte Jade network (14 chapters worldwide), which was founded in 1989 in Silicon Valley by high-tech Taiwanese American executives. Serves entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and STEM professionals; programs include forums, scholarship and mentorship programs, and job fairs. The Taiwanese tech professional network that produced Jerry Yang, Steve Chen, and Jensen Huang was built on exactly this kind of deliberate institutional infrastructure.
NATEA Southern California (North America Taiwanese Engineering & Science Association) — natea.org — National organization founded March 2, 1991 in Silicon Valley with 3,500+ members across 13 regional chapters and 26 corporate sponsors. The TECO-LA (Taiwan’s official representative office in LA) recognizes NATEA-SC as a professional community organization. For Taiwanese immigrants in engineering and science fields, NATEA is the most direct professional access point.
Data Sources
U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2022 5-Year Estimates) • Community organization websites and direct verification • Local school district enrollment data • Zillow and Apartments.com (rent estimates) • Glassdoor and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (salary data) • Redfin (home price data). Community population estimates reflect available Census language data combined with organization-reported figures. Read our full research methodology →