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Erika Na

Travelling from Hong Kong to San Francisco in 2025 is a straightforward journey. It takes about 12 hours, with four direct flights every day.
However, 170 years ago, in 1848, the journey was very different. Travelling from Hong Kong, on the southern edge of China, to the city on America’s west coast meant boarding a ship for a gruelling voyage across the Pacific Ocean. The trip could take up to 60 days.
Despite the hardship, San Francisco was an attractive destination for Chinese men hoping to make their fortunes abroad.
The allure stemmed from the discovery of gold in California in 1848. “Let’s go gold digging in Gold Mountain” became a commonly used phrase in Hong Kong.

In the mid 19th century, the US welcomed immigrants; the gold rush and the construction of America’s transcontinental railways created demand for cheap labour, as did the abolition of slavery in 1863.
Most of the Chinese men who emigrated to California came from Guangdong province.
Known as the Gold Mountain sojourners – or gum saan haak – they embarked on their journey dressed in traditional Chinese clothes, wearing long Qing braid hairstyles and carrying little more than a rattan suitcase filled with clothes, food and a few personal belongings.
The exhibition “Sojourning in Gold Mountain – Hong Kong and the Lives of Overseas Chinese in California” at the Hong Kong Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui takes a deeper look at the stories of these Chinese sojourners.
Featuring more than 170 exhibits on loan from California – 70 per cent of which are displayed in public for the first time – as well as various multimedia elements, the exhibition explores the first major wave of Chinese immigration to the US from multiple angles – and the crucial role Hong Kong played as a gateway between the two countries.

While past exhibitions often depicted overseas Chinese from this period as victims of forced labour or kidnapping, this exhibition highlights those who made the journey voluntarily.
“From our study, we found the situation in California was different. Most Chinese who travelled to California via Hong Kong went of their own accord or as contracted labourers,” said Dorothy Yim, a spokeswoman for Hong Kong’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department, which presents the exhibition.
“Thus, Chinese workers in California were able to change jobs every two-three years, and most importantly, they signed their working contracts voluntarily.”
Between the gold rush and the early 20th century, more than 6.3 million Chinese emigrants passed through Hong Kong on their way to foreign destinations.
The exhibition explains how most Chinese migrants in the 19th century planned to eventually return home. One common phrase at the time was zhi ri dong xuan, meaning “returning to the East in the near future”.
Hong Kong was a return point for these sojourners. Some arrived home with handsome sums of money and exotic goods from the US to share with their families. The less fortunate ones returned only as remains.

The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals – which, founded in 1870, is the oldest charitable organisation in Hong Kong – played a significant role in such repatriation.
The Tung Wah Museum provided for the exhibition a bone container from the early 20th century, used to repatriate the remains of the deceased to their hometowns via Hong Kong.
The exhibition also highlights how Hong Kong developed as an important entrepôt.
Businesses sprang up in Hong Kong to cater to the needs of Chinese migrants. Photo studios in the city served those who needed identity photos for travel documents. One of the exhibits shows old photos of Queen’s Road in Central and the studios that lined it, such as Nam Ting, Ye-chung, Victoria and Floyd.
Loan businesses also thrived. Labourers looking to finance their trip borrowed money and paid it back after arriving in California.
“Gold Mountain firms” – those specialising in trade with North America and Australia – were another important part of this network. The first of these firms was established in 1849, and by 1927, there were more than 280 of them. Exports included granite, opium, and everyday items like soy sauce, tea, and incense.

While life for immigrant labourers was never easy, the end of the gold rush in 1855 followed by the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 meant there was less work for migrant labourers in the US.
Rising anti-Chinese sentiment further worsened their situation. Employers lowered wages and blamed Chinese workers, stoking resentment among labourers of different backgrounds.
Mainstream media fuelled this hostility, often vilifying Chinese immigrants by mocking their appearance, language and way of life.
Racist cartoons on display at the exhibition, such as one featured in The Wasp magazine, depicted Chinese labourers as being “dumped” by British merchants, reflecting the growing animosity that eventually led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned all immigration of Chinese labourers to the US for 10 years.
Other stand-out exhibits include life-size reconstructions of significant locations, including the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay, where many Chinese immigrants were detained before being allowed entry to the US.

The exhibition also features detailed recreations of sites that served Chinese migrant workers during the 1800s. Among them is the Chew Kee store in Fiddletown, a town 200km (130 miles) northeast of San Francisco.
Another is the Kwan Ti Temple in Hanford, in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
A particularly striking piece on display at the exhibition is a golden dragon crafted in Hong Kong in 1931 and originally sent to Marysville, California, for Chinese immigrants to use during holiday celebrations. After 93 years, the dragon has made an auspicious return home.
“Sojourning in Gold Mountain – Hong Kong and the Lives of Overseas Chinese in California”, Exhibition Gallery, 2/F, Hong Kong Museum of History, Mon, Wed-Fri, 10am-6pm, Weekend and public holidays, 10am-7pm, closed on Tue.


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History

Stories of Chinese who joined California gold rush told in Hong Kong exhibition

A rattan suitcase from the Sojourning in Gold Mountain exhibition in Hong Kong.

An exhibit in Sojourning in Gold Mountain at the Hong Kong Museum of History, which delves into the lives of Chinese immigrants in California in the 19th century, and the importance of Hong Kong as a gateway between China and the US.

The entrance to Sojourning in Gold Mountain, an exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of History that delves into what life was like for Chinese migrant workers travelling to the US in the 19th century.

Among the 170 exhibits is this small rattan suitcase. Many Chinese migrants used cases like this to carry their belongings when travelling between home and California.

The exhibition highlights Hong Kong’s importance as a gateway for Chinese labourers travelling to and from California.

The exhibition spotlights sites in California and Hong Kong that were relevant to Chinese labourers during the 1800s.

One of the stand-out exhibits is the golden dragon made in Hong Kong that was sent to California in 1931.

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Lifestyle

Chinese culture

Arts

Sojourning in Gold Mountain at Hong Kong Museum of History shines a light on migrants’ journeys from China to San Francisco in the 1800s


Sojourning in Gold Mountain at Hong Kong Museum of History shines a light on migrants’ journeys from China to San Francisco in the 1800s.


Asian diaspora

Chinese history

Chinese overseas