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| A photo of two Chinese men at the Arizona History Museum |
ment of Arizona.
Following a
grass-is-always-greener-on-the-other-side-of-the-fence theory, many of China’s
young men immigrated to the United States during the California Gold Rush of
1849.
Their families sent them across the Pacific Ocean in hopes they’d strike
it rich in California, and return home with trunks full of money. It didn’t
happen this way. Other Chinese ended up in Arizona after entering North America
at a Mexican seaport and then making their way across the Sonora Desert.
With gold rush excitement running high, California passed a
law banning Mexicans and Asians from mining; still, the young men stayed in
this country. Many chose to move eastward, and ended up working in mining camps
in southern Arizona, until the territorial legislature banned Chinese from
working in mines in 1878. Then they turned
to helping build the railroad through Arizona. When the railroad was finished,
they stayed on, starting their own businesses such as restaurants, grocery
stores and laundries, or turned to farming, growing food for Tucson’s
burgeoning population.
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| Boothill in Tombstone |
Today, about 5,000 Chinese live in Tucson, and have their
own cultural center, hosting events and programs that promote their native
culture.
Are you going to China?
If a trip to China is in y our future, check out my website, Cheryl's China, and feel free to email me with any questions about travel in China.
