History of Chinese Americans in Los Angeles

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History of Chinese Americans in Los Angeles

Chinese Americans have lived in Los Angeles and its surrounding area for more than a century. In 2010, about 393,488 Chinese Americans lived in Los Angeles County (4% of the county’s population) and about 66,782 lived in the city of Los Angeles (1.8% of its population).

History
- The first Chinese people in Los Angeles arrived around 1850. Historians identify Ah Luce and Ah Fou as among the earliest, with other accounts naming a Chinese servant of a local family as an early arrival.
- By 1900, there were about 3,000 Chinese in the city. Most residents of the old Chinatown came from Sanyi (San Yup) and Siyi (Sze Yup) regions in Guangdong.
- The old Chinatown declined as Los Angeles grew. When the Union Station terminal was built in 1933, much of the old Chinatown was cleared. A new Chinatown was developed after land purchases arranged by Peter SooHoo Sr. and Herbert Lapham for the Santa Fe Railway.
- Christine Sterling, a civic leader, created China City, a tourist attraction that opened in 1938. It attracted Chinese workers and residents, but after two fires China City disappeared by the 1950s. Much of the old Chinatown was destroyed in 1951 to make way for the Hollywood Freeway; only a few remnants remained in Sanchez Alley and the Garnier Block.
- After the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, more Chinese—especially from Hong Kong and Taiwan—moved to Los Angeles. By the end of the 20th century, many Chinese families moved to suburbs such as Monterey Park, Alhambra, Arcadia, and Rosemead. By 2013, large populations were established in the San Gabriel Valley cities of San Gabriel, San Marino, and Walnut.
- The region has also faced anti-Chinese incidents, including the 2015 Rowland Heights bullying case involving Chinese nationals living in the area.

Geography
- The San Gabriel Valley hosts a large Chinese population, with many immigrants from Taiwan and Hong Kong. The communities of Monterey Park and Alhambra are especially prominent, followed by Arcadia and Rosemead.

Institutions
- The Chinese American Museum is located in Downtown Los Angeles.
- The Chinese Historical Society of Southern California is based in Los Angeles.

Language
- Cantonese was once the dominant Chinese language spoken in the Los Angeles area. By 2022, Mandarin Chinese was becoming more common.

Education
- As of 2006, most Greater Los Angeles Chinese supplementary schools were in the San Gabriel Valley, serving students from various Chinese backgrounds. Weekend schools tended to attract students from wider areas, while daily programs served nearby communities.
- In 1993, about 10,000 Chinese American children attended Saturday-morning Chinese language programs in the San Gabriel Valley. At that time, there were around four Rowland Unified School District campuses hosting classes for weekend Chinese schools.
- The Southern California Council of Chinese Schools, founded in 1976, united 11 Chinese weekend schools in the Los Angeles area. By the early 1990s, almost all San Gabriel Valley Chinese schools belonged to this council.
- Notable schools and programs include Hacienda Heights Area Chinese School (opened in 1982; expanded to Cedarlane Junior High School by 1990 with about 550 students in 1993), Ming Yuan Institute (founded by Michael Chen in 1987; about 750 students in Monterey Park and 50 in Rowland Heights in 1993), and the San Fernando Valley Chinese School (founded in 1971; held in Northridge as of 1988).

Notable people
- Judy Chu
- Michelle Kwan
- Ted Lieu
- Lanhee Chen
- Helen Liu Fong

In sum, Chinese Americans shaped Los Angeles from the mid-19th century onward, enduring hardship and discrimination, creating vibrant neighborhoods, institutions, and educational networks, and helping to build a diverse, multiethnic Los Angeles that continues to grow and evolve today.