We Drove Into the Desert and Found China
We’d been crossing into Baja for years — Tijuana, Rosarito, Ensenada, the coast — before someone told us to go east instead. “Drive to Mexicali,” a friend said. “Order Chinese food.” We thought he was joking. Two and a half hours east of San Diego, through the brown expanse of Imperial Valley, we crossed the border at Calexico and entered a city that broke every assumption we had about Baja California.
Mexicali is not a beach town. It’s not a tourist town. It’s a sprawling desert capital of nearly a million people, the seat of Baja California state government, surrounded by farmland irrigated from the Colorado River and flanked by volcanic geothermal fields. The temperature the day we arrived was 98 degrees in October — locals told us that was “pleasant.” In summer, this city regularly hits 120°F. The streets shimmer with heat. Shade is currency.
But we didn’t come for the weather. We came because Mexicali has the largest Chinatown in Mexico, a neighborhood called La Chinesca where over two hundred Chinese restaurants serve a cuisine that exists nowhere else on Earth — a fusion of Cantonese cooking and northern Mexican ingredients that evolved over more than a century. We walked into our first restaurant, sat down, and ordered kung pao chicken with flour tortillas and salsa verde on the side. It shouldn’t have worked. It absolutely worked.
Jenice was fascinated. Her family on the Mexican side had mentioned Mexicali’s Chinese food before, almost offhandedly, like it was common knowledge. For most Americans, it’s a complete surprise. We spent two days eating our way through La Chinesca, visiting geothermal hot springs in the volcanic desert, and driving through a forest of giant cacti that looked like they belonged on another planet. Mexicali gave us something no other Baja destination has — a city that feels completely, stubbornly original.
What Makes Mexicali Different?
Every Baja destination has its identity — Tijuana has street tacos and craft beer, Ensenada has fish tacos and wine, Valle de Guadalupe has vineyards. Mexicali’s identity is built on something you’d never expect: a Chinese immigrant community that arrived over a century ago and fused two culinary traditions into something entirely new.
In the early 1900s, thousands of Chinese laborers came to the Mexicali Valley to build irrigation canals for the Colorado River Land Company. When the United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 and tightened enforcement through the early 1900s, many Chinese immigrants crossed into Mexico instead. By the 1920s, Chinese residents actually outnumbered Mexicans in Mexicali. They built a neighborhood — La Chinesca — complete with underground tunnels, gambling halls, and restaurants that served Cantonese food adapted to local ingredients.
That history is still alive. La Chinesca today stretches across several blocks of downtown Mexicali, packed with restaurants whose menus read like a cultural collision: sweet and sour pork served with handmade flour tortillas, wonton soup with a side of refried beans, fried rice with carne asada. The older restaurants have been family-run for three or four generations. The flavors have evolved into something that belongs entirely to Mexicali — not Chinese, not Mexican, but a third thing that only makes sense in this desert border city.
Beyond the food, Mexicali sits on one of the most geothermally active zones in North America. The Cerro Prieto volcanic field, just south of the city, powers one of the world’s largest geothermal energy plants and feeds natural hot springs that locals have been soaking in for generations. And an hour south, the Valley of the Giants holds some of the tallest cardon cacti on Earth — sixty-foot columns of green rising from cracked desert soil, some estimated at over three hundred years old.
Heat and History
Desert air bends above the pavement. Behind these storefronts, a century of Chinese-Mexican history lives in every wonton wrapper and flour tortilla.
Where to Eat in Mexicali
Eating in Mexicali is an education. The Chinese-Mexican restaurants are the headline, but the northern Mexican food — carne asada, machaca, flour tortillas — is some of the best in Baja. This is cattle country and agricultural heartland, and the cooking reflects it.
Restaurant China House
The institution. China House has been serving Mexicali’s Chinese-Mexican fusion since the 1970s, and the dining room — red lanterns, round tables, lazy Susans — feels like stepping into a different era. Their sweet and sour pork is legendary, and the fried rice is the benchmark against which we now judge all others. Dinner for two runs 350-600 MXN ($20-35 USD). Ask for flour tortillas on the side — they bring them warm and fresh.
Restaurant Dong Cheng
A La Chinesca favorite with some of the most adventurous fusion on the strip. The kung pao shrimp with serrano peppers instead of traditional dried chiles is a Mexicali original. Their house special chow mein is enormous and feeds two easily. Budget 250-450 MXN ($14-25 USD) per person. Cash only.
Tacos Aaron
When we need a break from Chinese-Mexican, Tacos Aaron delivers the best carne asada tacos we’ve found in the city. The beef is grilled over mesquite, chopped to order, and served on thick flour tortillas with guacamole and beans. Three tacos and a drink cost 100-160 MXN ($6-9 USD). This is Sonoran-style beef country cooking at its purest.
La Michoacana de Mexicali
Not the ice cream chain — this is a proper sit-down restaurant serving birria, pozole, and menudo that draws weekend crowds of families who’ve been coming for decades. The birria here is beef-based (northern style, not goat), slow-braised and deeply spiced. A bowl with all the fixings costs 140-220 MXN ($8-12 USD). Go on Sunday morning for the menudo.
El Dragon Rojo
Another La Chinesca stalwart with a menu that runs to several pages of Chinese-Mexican combinations. Their Peking-style duck with mole is the kind of dish that could only have been invented in Mexicali — two traditions colliding on one plate. Dinner for two costs 400-700 MXN ($23-40 USD). The dim sum lunch service on weekends is the move if you want variety.
Cenaduria La Flor de Mexicali
Open evenings only, this no-frills spot serves tamales, enchiladas, and tostadas the way abuelas make them. Everything is handmade — the masa, the salsas, the pickled vegetables on the side. A full plate costs 80-150 MXN ($5-8 USD). Jenice says the enchiladas remind her of her tia’s kitchen, which is the highest compliment she gives.
La Chinesca After Dark
Neon signs glow in Cantonese and Spanish. The smell of soy sauce and chiles mingles in doorways that have been open for a hundred years.
Where to Stay in Mexicali
Mexicali is a state capital, not a resort town. The hotel options are geared toward business travelers, which means clean rooms, reliable air conditioning, and reasonable prices. That AC matters more here than anywhere else in Baja.
Hotel Lucerna Mexicali (Mid-Range to Upscale)
The best hotel in the city, full stop. The Lucerna chain is a Baja institution, and the Mexicali location has a pool, a solid restaurant, and rooms that are modern and well-maintained. The AC is industrial-grade, which you’ll appreciate. Rooms run 1,400-2,200 MXN ($80-125 USD) per night. It’s also well-positioned for exploring La Chinesca on foot.
Fiesta Inn Mexicali (Mid-Range)
A reliable business hotel with everything you need and nothing you don’t. Clean rooms, good Wi-Fi, a pool, and a fitness center. The location is near the commercial district and an easy taxi ride to downtown. Rates are 1,100-1,800 MXN ($62-100 USD) per night. Our pick when we want a simple, comfortable base.
Hotel Colonial (Budget)
A no-frills option right in the Centro Historico, walking distance to La Chinesca. The rooms are basic but clean, and the price is right at 500-900 MXN ($28-50 USD) per night. The AC works, the water is hot, and you’re steps from the Chinese restaurants. That’s all we need for a Mexicali overnight.
Araiza Mexicali (Mid-Range)
A regional chain with a large pool complex that’s genuinely useful in the desert heat. Rooms are spacious and the on-site restaurant is decent for breakfast before a day of exploring. Rates run 1,000-1,600 MXN ($57-90 USD) per night. Popular with Mexican families on weekend getaways.
What to Do in Mexicali
Explore La Chinesca
Mexicali’s Chinatown isn’t a tourist attraction with entry gates and gift shops — it’s a living neighborhood of restaurants, markets, and businesses that happen to have a century of Chinese-Mexican history embedded in their walls. Walk Avenida Juarez and the surrounding blocks, eat at two or three restaurants, browse the shops selling Chinese teas and Mexican spices side by side. Some buildings still have access to the underground tunnels that Chinese residents built in the early 1900s — ask around and you might get a peek.
Valley of the Giants (Valle de los Gigantes)
About an hour south of Mexicali on the road toward San Felipe, the desert opens up into a landscape dotted with massive cardon cacti — the world’s largest cactus species. Some specimens here stand over sixty feet tall and are estimated to be 200-400 years old. The valley is free to visit, but the access road is unpaved and requires a vehicle with decent clearance. We drove our rental SUV without issues. Bring water — there’s no shade and no services out here. Best visited early morning when the light hits the cacti sideways and the temperature is still bearable.
Cerro Prieto Geothermal Hot Springs
The volcanic field south of Mexicali produces enough geothermal energy to power the city, and it also feeds natural hot springs that locals have been using for generations. Several informal and semi-developed spring sites dot the area, with water temperatures ranging from warm to scalding. Entrance fees at developed sites run 100-200 MXN ($6-11 USD). The surreal landscape of steaming vents and mineral-crusted earth is worth the trip even if you don’t soak.
Bosque de la Ciudad (City Forest Park)
Mexicali’s largest park is an unexpected oasis — a sprawling green space with walking paths, a small zoo, a lake, and picnic areas shaded by mature trees. On weekends, families spread out with coolers and portable grills. Entrance is 20 MXN ($1 USD). After the relentless desert sun, the shade here feels like luxury.
Centro Historico Walking Tour
Downtown Mexicali has a collection of early 20th-century buildings from the city’s founding era — the old customs house, the cathedral, the government palace. A self-guided walk takes about an hour and gives context to how a dusty border outpost became a state capital. The architecture is a mix of Mexican, American, and Chinese influences, which tells the whole Mexicali story in stone and brick.
Giants in the Sand
Sixty feet tall and three centuries old. The cardon cacti stand like sentinels in a valley so quiet you can hear the desert breathe.
Scott’s Pro Tips
- Getting There & Border Crossing: From San Diego, drive east on I-8 for about 2 hours to Calexico. The Calexico West port of entry is smaller and much less chaotic than San Ysidro — we've crossed in under 15 minutes on weekday mornings. You can also use the Calexico East crossing for vehicles. Coming back to the US, waits average 20-45 minutes. If you're flying, Mexicali International Airport (MXL) has daily flights from Mexico City, Guadalajara, and a few other Mexican cities.
- Best Time to Visit: November through March, absolutely. October and April are borderline — warm but manageable. May through September is genuinely dangerous heat, with temperatures regularly exceeding 45°C (113°F) and often hitting 50°C (122°F). We visited in October and it was 98°F — locals shrugged and called it "cool." If you must go in summer, plan all outdoor activities before 9am or after 6pm.
- Getting Around: Mexicali is spread out — it's a real city, not a walkable tourist zone. La Chinesca and Centro Historico are walkable, but for the hot springs, Valley of the Giants, or Bosque de la Ciudad, you'll need a car or taxi. Uber works in Mexicali. City taxis charge 50-100 MXN ($3-6 USD) for rides within the urban area. For the Valley of the Giants, rent a car — you'll want your own vehicle on that unpaved road.
- Money & ATMs: Mexicali runs on pesos more than coastal Baja — fewer places accept USD here since this isn't a tourist town. Withdraw pesos from Banorte, BBVA, or Santander ATMs downtown. Credit cards work at hotels and larger restaurants but many La Chinesca spots and smaller eateries are cash only. Budget 500-1,000 MXN ($28-57 USD) per day for food and activities.
- Safety & Health: Centro Historico and La Chinesca are safe during the day. The Zona Dorada commercial district is fine into the evening. Avoid the colonias on the city's outskirts, especially at night. Heat is the biggest health risk — drink at least 3-4 liters of water daily, wear a hat, and take breaks in air conditioning. Hospital General de Mexicali on Calle del Hospital is the main public hospital; Hospital Almater is the better private option for emergencies.
- Packing Essentials: Sunscreen (SPF 50+), a wide-brimmed hat, a refillable water bottle, and light-colored loose clothing. Desert sun is brutal and relentless. Bring layers for evening — desert temperatures can drop 20-30 degrees after sunset, especially November through February. Sturdy closed-toe shoes for the Valley of the Giants — the terrain is rocky and cactus spines are everywhere.
- Local Culture & Etiquette: Mexicali is a working city, not a tourist destination, so you'll interact with people going about their daily lives. A "Buenos dias" or "Buenas tardes" is expected, not optional. Tipping 10-15% at sit-down restaurants is standard. At Chinese restaurants in La Chinesca, the staff often speaks Cantonese, Spanish, and some English — don't be surprised to hear all three at one table. Jenice says the warmth here is quieter than coastal Baja but just as genuine.