Our Story
Our mission is to advance the appreciation of Chinese American culture through exhibitions, education, and research and to preserve the past, present, and future of Chinese Americans primarily in the Midwest.
The Museum building, formerly the Quong Yick Co., is located in Chicago's Chinatown, at 238 West 23rd Street, Chicago, IL 60616
1/2 block west of Wentworth Ave. and 3 blocks from the Chinatown station of the CTA's Red Line.
Comments
“Story of My Ancestors Who Built the First Transcontinental Railroad”
Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society published my article - “Story of My Ancestors Who Built the First Transcontinental Railroad.”
I describe the odyssey of Bein Yiu Chung, my great great grandfather, from Hoyping, on Gold Mountain – America. He labored as a railroad worker on Transcontinental Railroad, from 1865 to 1869.
I also tell the tales of:
- My great great great grandfather who mined for gold during California Gold Rush (1849-1855)
- My great grandfather who owned a gambling parlor and o***m den in Boston Chinatown (1892-1926)
- My grandfather who owned a Chop Suey house at Central Square in Cambridge (1923-1936)
- My father who was an aircraft mechanic for US Navy during World War II (1943-1945) and was a minor partner for a Chinese nightclub in San Francisco Chinatown (1946-1950)
ASAMNEWS – Army General with a Cause: Chinese Am WWII veterans
On behalf of ASAMNEWS, I wrote an article about retired Army Major General William Chen. He was a key leader for Chinese American World War II Veterans Congressional Gold Medal.
THE SECOND TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD – From California to New Mexico (1869 to 1881)
For AsAmNews, I wrote an article about the Second Transcontinental Railroad – “Here’s how Chinese built the “other” transcontinental railroad”.
ASAMNEWS - Racism impact: 5 Generations of a Chinese Family in the US
For AsAmNews, I wrote an article about Bruce Quan, Jr.’s book - BITTER ROOTS – Five Generations of a Chinese Family in America.
In Part One: The Rise and Fall of the First Chinese Industrialist in America, Quan talks about Lew Hing, his great grandfather. Lew faced racism impact in America as he developed his cannery business and other business ventures.
BITTER ROOTS book is available from Amazon.
ASAMNEWS - Racism impact: 5 Generations of a Chinese Family in the US
For AsAmNews, I wrote an article about Bruce Quan, Jr.’s book - BITTER ROOTS – Five Generations of a Chinese Family in America.
In Part One: The Rise and Fall of the First Chinese Industrialist in America, Quan talks about Lew Hing, his great grandfather. Lew faced racism impact in America as he developed his cannery business and other business ventures.
BITTER ROOTS book is available from Amazon.
NEW ENGLAND - Chinese Restaurant Finances in the 1920s
For SAMPAN, the only bilingual Chinese-English Newspaper in New England, Richard Auffrey has written “Chinese Restaurant Finances in the 1920s.”
Richard describes the financing at Royal Restaurant in Boston Chinatown and at Imperial Restaurant in Central Square of Cambridge. Moi Chung, my grandfather, from Hoyping, Kwangtung, Cathay, was partner for both restaurants. He was a grandson of a railroad worker of the First Transcontinental Railroad.
THE ZHANG CLAN ODYSSEY: Zhang Weiming - My Kaiping Journey - From Gold Mountain To Dragon Hill Village
On my The Zhang Clan Odyssey website, I poignantly describe the journey to my ancestral land of Kaiping at Jiangmen in Guangdong, China.
My Dragon Hill Village is nestled in the countryside of the Pearl River Delta, in the Wuyi region.
On May 8, 2009, I wistfully honored my Zhang ancestors, with Qingming festival. Amid the stony tombs on the Hill of the Flying Swan: my great great great grandfather, the gold miner of California Gold Rush; my great great grandfather, the railroad worker on the Transcontinental Railroad; and my great grandfather, the Boston Chinatown gambling and o***m entrepreneur.
https://www.mychinaroots.com/samples/zhang-odyssey/index.html#140
My China Roots, Beijing, China, created the Zhang Clan Odyssey site, for me.
PROFESSOR YONG CHEN AND “CHOP SUEY, USA” – A Zoom Webinar
The Conversation Kitchen of University of California at Irvine will feature Professor Yong Chen’s book Chop Suey, USA. He and Chef Jessica Van Roo will muse about the culinary dishes of Chop Suey in USA.
Chop Suey is the comfort food of the Cantonese sojourners on Gold Mountain.
From the iconic musical and movie, “Flower Drum Song,” a tasty ode to Chop Suey:
“Chop Suey”
Chop suey, chop suey!
Living here is very much like chop suey.
Hula hoops and nuclear war,
Doctor Salk and Zsa Zsa Gabor,
Bobby Darin, Sandra Dee, and Dewey,
Chop suey, --Chop suey!--
Stars are drifting overhead,
Birds and worms have gone to bed.
Men work late in laboratories,
Others read detective stories.
Some are roaming 'round the country,
Others sit beneath just one tree.
Tonight on TV's Late, Late Show
You can look at Clara Bow! --Who?--
Chop suey, chop suey!
Good and bad, intelligent, mad, and screwy.
Violins and trumpets and drums,
Take it all the way that it comes,
Sad and funny, sour and honey dewy,
Chop suey!
Ballpoint pens and filter tips,
Lipsticks and potato chips.
In the dampest kind of heat wave
You can give your hair a neat wave.
Hear that lovely La Paloma,
Lullaby by Perry Como.
Dreaming in my Maiden form bra,
Dreamed I danced the Cha-Cha-Cha.
Chop suey, chop suey!
Mixed with all the hokum and bally hooey.
Something real and glowing grand.
Sheds a light all over the land.
Boston, Austin, Wichita, and St. Louey,
Chop suey.
Chop suey, chop suey!
Chop suey, chop suey!
ASAMNEWS - 28 Chinese miners massacred in Wyoming in 1885 over jobs
On behalf of AsAmNews, I wrote an article about the ugly massacre of Chinese coal miners at Rock Springs in Wyoming Territory.
After the enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, anti-Chinese sentiment swept the wildlands of the American West. Whites discriminated against the Chinese; Whites expelled the Chinese from Chinatowns; Whites slaughtered the Chinese at towns, fields, and mines.
A bitter memory of a brutal incident against the Chinese, on September 2, 1885 – The Rock Springs Massacre.
GIM SUEY CHONG - Chinese American World War II Veteran
As we honor and remember our veterans on Veterans Day, November 11, 2020, I reminisce about Gim Suey Chong, my father.
Gim was a Chinese American World War II Veteran. He served with United States Naval Reserve. His all-Chinese crew diligently maintained the China Clipper, the world-famous flying boat and other seaplanes, to and from Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. They performed crucial maintenance at Treasure Island Station on the San Francisco Bay, east of San Francisco. He was discharged on December 7, 1945.
From Hoyping in Kwangtung province of China, Gim arrived at the Port of Boston, as a paper son – an illegal immigrant, on April 20, 1932. He was a victim of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. He was separated from his mother, for 34 years, until February 14, 1966. They reunited at Los Angeles International Airport.
Gim was a descendant of Chinese gold miner during the California Gold Rush and of Chinese railroad worker on the Transcontinental Railroad
On Angel Island Immigrant Station Foundation website, under Immigrant Voices, Gim is profiled in “Gim Suey Chong: Our Quiet Man.”
ASAMNEWS - Two Chinese men overcome racism to make history (Transcontinental Railroad)
On behalf of AsAmNews, I wrote about “Chinese Brothers, American Sons,” by Ed Shew of Saint Louis, Missouri.
“Ed Shew has written a historical novel – Chinese Brothers, American Sons. He tells the story of the brave two fictional Cantonese brothers, Li Chang, the eldest, and Li Yu under the backdrop of Chinese American history.” They faced racism during California Gold Rush, San Francisco Chinatown, and Transcontinental Railroad, from 1854 to 1869.
