Chinese Railroad Workers

Researching Chinese Railroad Workers

Upcoming Events
FamilySearch Chinese Genealogy Workshop 9 & 11 May 2019 For more information, see this article.

Articles Written in Chinese

 * American Railway Chinese Workers' Tears, the First Transcontinental Railroad (美國鐵路華工血淚第一條橫貫大陸鐵路) - brief summary of Chinese involvement in building the railroad, as well as mention of those buried in the Changquing Cemetery.
 * The Remembered Pacific Railway, the Forgotten Chinese History (被铭记的太平洋铁路，被遗忘的华人历史) - commentary on existing photos of Chinese railway workers.

Articles Written in English

 * Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford University (史丹福大學北美鐵路華工研究工程網址) - main site for the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project, giving a voice to those Chinese who worked on building the transcontinental railroad.
 * Chinese immigrants helped build California, but they’ve been written out of its history - commentary of the lack of historical narrative or reference to Chinese railway workers.

Videos

 * Hung Lai Woh - Chinese railroad worker - Russell Low tells how his family discovered the story of his great grandfather Hung Lai Woh, who worked on the US first Transcontinental railroad.
 * Building the Transcontinental Railroad - discusses the Transcontinental Railroad from the perspective of a young girl whose father was a Chinese Laborer.
 * C-SPAN Cities Tour - Ogden: Promontory Summit & the Transcontinental Railroad - offers great history on the railroad focusing on Chinese’ contribution and the impact to the economy.
 * Chinese and the Iron Road: Building the Transcontinental - "The Chinese and the Iron Road: Building the Transcontinental" is a traveling exhibit that was produced by the Chinese Historical Society of America and the Chinese Railroad Workers Project at Stanford University. The exhibit tells the undocumented story of thousands of Chinese migrants, who played an instrumental role in the construction of the nation’s first transcontinental railway in the 1860s. It was on display From January 5 - February 29, 2016 in Geisel Library on the University of California, San Diego campus.
 * Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial - descendants of the railroad workers commented on their ancestors’ contributions and the recent memorial project to be completed in Fall of 2019.
 * Chinese & Nevada Railroads - Part 1 and Part 2 - detailing major contributions made by the Chinese who came to the American West in the 19th century to build the Central Pacific Railroad, emphasizing Verdi, Nevada, the site of a Chinese lumber camp excavation.
 * Transcontinental Railroad and the American West - discusses race to build the world's first transcontinental railroad, paving the way for white settlers at the expense of Native American populations.
 * AP US History Documentary: The First Transcontinental Railroad - overview of the history of the transcontinental railroad.
 * How The Transcontinental Railroad Was Built - discusses the design and process of constructing the transcontinental railroad.
 * Standford University's Railway Exhibition (史丹福華工與鐵路展) - exhibit of photography along the railway, showing the difference between the past and present.
 * Museum of Chinese in America Shows a Little-Known History - highlights a museum dedicated to the story of Chinese in America.
 * VIDEO: Chinese railroad workers and the CPR - examinesthe history of Chinese laborers on Canada’s first megaproject, the Canadian Pacific Railroad, which brought new economic and transportation possibilities to a young nation, but at a severe human cost, including sickness, malnutrition, and shunning by society.
 * Footprint Season 1 07 Railway Chinese workers (足跡 第一季 07 鐵路華工) - includes interviews with the first American Chinese Judge from Utah.

Articles Written in Chinese

 * California Gold Rush (加利福尼亞淘金潮) - partial article summarizing different aspects of the California Gold Rush.

Research Information
Most Frequently Reported Occupations, 1870

Organizations & Projects

 * Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project c/o American Studies Program, Stanford University (北美鐵路華工研究工程項目， 史丹福大學)


 * Railroad Workers Memorial Project


 * Chinese Railroad Workers Descendants Association (鐵路華工後裔協會) 


 * Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA, in San Francisco) (美國華人歷史學會博物館)


 * Chinese American Museum


 * California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento, CA


 * Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum


 * History Museum for Overseas Chinese (located in Beijing) (中国华侨历史博物馆 北京）


 * Other local communities along the railroad route (see this article for more route information)


 * University of Washington (Professor, Asian American History, Moon-Ho Jung)


 * Truckee-Donner Historical Society (Jim Fisher)


 * Nevada State Railroad Museum Curator (Historian: Wendell Huffman)