We carry a Hongmen tradition of fellowship into a present-day commitment to cultural preservation, mutual support and service to the community.
UC Berkeley’s archival research describes Chee Kung Tong as established in 1848. That founding tradition anchors our chapter’s sense of continuity; the surviving records let us explore the people and events that shaped its later history.
A July 1911 photograph records Sun Yat-sen with associates in San Francisco. Photographs of Hongmen gatherings in 1918, 1921 and 1923 document a lodge connected to a wider community. In 2018, historical materials entered the care of UC Berkeley’s C. V. Starr East Asian Library, helping preserve this record for future generations.
Our story is both local and transpacific. Its heart remains the people who gather, remember and serve here in San Francisco.
Read our sourced history →
These two portraits were supplied from the chapter’s image collection.
These portraits are founders of the San Francisco lodge.
Buildings become part of a community’s memory. Their meeting rooms, signs and gathering places give a physical home to relationships that can endure for generations.
This photograph preserves a view of our original San Francisco chapter building. Its balconies, exterior stairway and Chinese Freemasons signage form part of the visual history of our lodge.
Explore the archival gallery →At 36 Spofford Street, the story of Chee Kung Tong continues through the people who meet here, carry our banners, welcome visitors and give their time to the community. The San Francisco lodge is a place where inherited traditions become shared experiences—where a photograph on the wall can begin a conversation between generations.
Double Ten brings members and friends together in a visible expression of fellowship. Our flags and embroidered lodge banners connect the gathering at headquarters with the wider life of Chinatown. These recent chapter photographs capture the procession, the people and the pride of taking part.
The tradition continues to welcome new generations. Reporting on the October 10, 2026 observance, SF Epoch Times recorded the San Francisco lodge’s traditional ceremony and the admission of 12 new members. Read the report ↗
White Crane teaches martial arts and lion dance to Chee Kung Tong members. Under Clifton Leung, who serves as president of both organizations, the two groups work together to help the community and offer people of all ages opportunities to learn without charge.
The purpose reaches beyond a performance. Learning together encourages patience, coordination, mutual respect and the confidence to contribute. For younger members, participating alongside experienced practitioners makes cultural heritage something they can practice and carry forward. Contact the chapter about current arrangements and participation.
Explore martial arts & lion dance →On August 2, 2025, a 16-person academic delegation from Taiwan visited the San Francisco lodge as part of an exploration of overseas Chinese history. The visit included discussion of the lodge’s development, its assistance to immigrants, and the role of overseas Chinese fundraising in the revolutionary era.
Visits like this give our rooms, photographs and records a continuing purpose: helping people ask questions, share knowledge and understand the community behind the history.
Read the August 2025 visit report ↗
Our affiliation with Chinese Hospital connects the lodge to an enduring Chinatown commitment: caring for neighbors. Clifton Leung’s board involvement continues that relationship. Community institutions grow stronger when people contribute their time, maintain relationships and take responsibility for the next generation.
Our Chinese Hospital connection →Our executives serve as volunteers. Their work includes bringing members together, supporting cultural activities, caring for the lodge’s heritage and helping prepare future projects. Participation is not limited to holding an office: members can share time, practical skills, photographs and family memories.
Generations of leadership →Historical materials preserved at UC Berkeley’s C. V. Starr East Asian Library connect our lodge’s story with researchers and future generations. At headquarters, the meeting room, portraits and ceremonial setting keep that heritage rooted in the community that carries it.
Explore our archival preservation →
We are preparing a 180th anniversary exhibition in 2028, bringing together our history and the people who will carry it forward. Plans include a limited-edition anniversary book, followed by exclusive member coins and merchandise. The exhibition date and venue will be announced once confirmed.
Members and friends can register interest in attending, helping with preparations, or contributing photographs and memories. Every story can help the next generation understand the people behind our institution.
Discover the exhibition & take part →Keep Chinese heritage present in community life. Share our photographs, preserve our records and create space for elders and younger generations to learn from one another.
Our principles →Our relationship with Chinese Hospital connects the lodge to a wider San Francisco tradition of community care. Explore the history of that affiliation and the chapter’s continuing involvement.
Chinese Hospital →Bring people together through shared interests, cultural events and service. Discover the local martial arts and lion dance traditions connected with our community.
Martial arts & lion dance →Leadership information supplied by the San Francisco chapter, September 2026.
Meet our executive members →The supplied procession photograph belongs to the wider Chee Kung Tong story. The National Library of New Zealand identifies it as a Chinese Freemasons procession on Frederick Street in Wellington, cataloged as 1924. It is included here as part of the chapter-supplied collection, clearly distinguished from photographs of our own San Francisco branch.
How are Hongmen, Hung Mun and Chee Kung Tong connected? Explore the names, mutual aid, Sun Yat-sen records and present-day community in our sourced Hongmen guide.
Hongmen history & Chee Kung Tong guide →Chee Kung Tong Supreme Lodge
36 Spofford Street · San Francisco, CA 94108
Please contact the chapter to arrange a visit.
UC Berkeley librarians’ archive research poster supports the 1848 founding tradition and the 2018 archival collection history. Berkeley’s July 1911 photograph record and the linked 1923 record document later gatherings. Additional historical sources are collected on our History & Legacy page. The original San Francisco chapter building is identified by the chapter; the Wellington procession is identified separately. The year count is the current calendar year minus 1848, not an exact anniversary calculation.
