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A weathered grave marker bearing Chinese inscriptions stands amidst snow-covered fields, marking the resting place of Mrs. Wong Kim—a testament to the enduring legacy of Montana’s Chinese pioneers

Ghosts of Gold Mountain: Grave-Sweeping Rituals and the Resilience of Montana’s Chinese Railroad Workers

Between 1865 and 1890, over 1,200 Chinese laborers worked on Montana’s railroads, including the Northern Pacific Railway. Most were young men from Taishan and Kaiping in Guangdong’s Wuyi region, recruited through clan networks to replace Irish crews deemed too costly. These men left their families behind, hoping to earn enough to send money home or…

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A docked ship with mooring ropes, symbolizing the perilous sea voyages undertaken by Chinese labor migrants after the end of slavery.

How the End of Slavery Impacted Chinese Labor Migration

The abolition of slavery in the mid-19th century reshaped global labor markets, driving a surge in Chinese labor migration to replace enslaved workers in plantations, railroads, and mines. Facing poverty, war, and political turmoil, thousands of Chinese laborers embarked on perilous ocean journeys, enduring exploitation, deception, and harsh working conditions under the coolie trade. This…

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