Asian Garden Mall, known in Vietnamese as Phước Lộc Thọ, is a shopping center in Westminster, California.
The mall is located at 9200 Bolsa Avenue, serving as the focal point of Little Saigon in Orange County and is the site of many cultural and political events in the Vietnamese-American community.
In Vietnamese the mall is called Phước Lộc Thọ, which has the same meaning as the Chinese name 福祿壽 (Fú Lù Shòu), from the names of three deities in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese beliefs representing fortune (phước), prosperity (lộc), and longevity (thọ).
In Vietnamese-language media and vernacular of local Vietnamese-speaking people, the mall is invariably called Phước Lộc Thọ.
[8] In the mid-1990s, the mall faced the prospect of irrelevancy as younger Vietnamese Americans joined mainstream society and moved further away from Little Saigon.
Inside, the mall is decorated with Vietnamese and Asian symbols such as red paper lanterns, fans, as well as statues and figurines.
The parade has been organized since 1996, occurring on the Saturday closest to the holiday, attracting about 20,000 annual attendees[20] and is broadcast live on local Vietnamese-language TV and radio stations.
On summer weekends, the front parking lot is turned into a night market, serving snacks and attracting younger visitors.
[26] Asian Garden Mall is not simply a shopping center, it also serves as a symbol for the Vietnamese community in Orange County as well as in the United States.
[30] As the most famous and most recognizable landmark in Little Saigon, Asian Garden Mall also serves as an orienting device—a central meeting place with friends before going elsewhere.
Although the mall is described as the "heart" of Little Saigon, many locals try to avoid going there directly because of the crowds and difficulty finding a parking spot.
Karín Aguilar-San Juan of Macalester College argues in her book about Little Saigons that the mall has become a mental destination, with possibly bigger meaning than just a shopping venue.