The Chinese American Museum
The Chinese American Experience in the San Gabriel Valley

by Amy Luu,
Getty Intern, Summer 1999

Introduction

The United States has been known as a land of opportunity. For over two centuries, people from all over the world have come to America to chase the elusive American dream for themselves and for their families. The motives of immigrants with Chinese ancestry are no different. They immigrate out of necessity, either to seek better job opportunities abroad or because of political instabilities at home. At every step of the process, their immigration experience mirrors the dreams and hopes of all immigrants.

After the 1960's, a diverse population of Chinese immigrants came to the United States and specifically to the Los Angeles County, mainly as a consequence of the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act. Some ethnic Chinese come from Southeast Asia as refugees in order to escape their war torn homelands while others come from Taiwan, Republic of China, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China in order to escape political instability or to search for better economic opportunities.

In addition, this group of immigrants is historically different from other Chinese immigrants of the past. Most come to the United States with sufficient amount of capital to start their own businesses and to buy homes, rather than going through the traditional route of living in urban ethnic enclaves and working at low wage jobs before amassing enough capital to start a business or to move to a better community.

Many of the new Chinese immigrants now call the San Gabriel Valley their home. They revitalize the local economies by introducing international businesses and investments to the area. We also see a presence of highly skilled, highly technological, and highly affluent enterprises such as computer manufacturing, real estate development, medical facilities, financial institutions, among the expected mix of small mom and pop stores and restaurants.

The contributions Chinese Americans are making to the San Gabriel Valley are but a small aspect of the larger picture. Chinese Americans have influenced greatly to all aspects of American society and will continue to do so in the future for this nation.

Part I
Push and Pull: The Settlement of Chinese in the San Gabriel Valley

The 1965 Immigration Act ended discriminatory quotas favoring Europeans over Chinese and other non-European immigrants and consequently, a diverse population of Chinese was able to immigrate to the United States. Most came from three main areas; Taiwan, Peoples' Republic of China, and Hong Kong, to escape political uncertainty and lack of opportunities at home. For instance, the official establishment of United States diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1979 and the handover of Hong Kong back to China in 1997 motivated many to leave their homelands for socioeconomic stability abroad.

Furthermore, the Vietnam War and other political civil wars in Southeast Asia significantly increased the numbers of ethnic Chinese immigrants coming to the United States. The influx of all these new Chinese immigrants helped to increase the population of Chinese Americans already heading east to settle in the San Gabriel Valley. Relatives, friends, and other family members soon followed suit and a chain migration of Chinese to the San Gabriel Valley was initiated, creating the bustling Chinese communities we now see.

Media coverage here and abroad promoted the San Gabriel Valley so well that it was only a matter of time before Monterey Park was called the Chinese Beverly Hills. The mecca for Chinese successfully drew enough interest to the area so not only did the San Gabriel Valley area become a choice area to reside in, but it also attracted economic businesses and international investment.

Chinese Immigration to Selected U.S. Zip Codes:
Fiscal Years 1983-1990
Zip Code China Taiwan Hong Kong Total
10002 New York, NY 13,943 437 2,248 16,628
91754 Monterey Park, CA 2,479 2,328 768 5,575
11373 Flushing, NY 2,786 1,116 551 4,453
91801 Alhambra, CA 1,426 1,301 464 3,191
11355 Flushing, NY 1,550 1,245 322 3,117
91770 Rosemead, CA 1,014 486 288 1,788
90701 Artesia/Cerritos, CA 529 1,077 83 1,689
94112 San Francisco, CA 1,118 77 276 1,471
94015 Daly City, CA 678 171 400 1,249
60640 Chicago, IL 362 56 58 476
Source: Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Note: Two qualifiers should be kept in mind. First, the country persons emigrate from may not be their place of birth: e.g., someone born in China may have moved to Taiwan and emigrated from that country. Second, place of birth does not necessarily equate with ancestry. A person born in Hong Kong may be East Indian; conversely, a person born in Vietnam may be ethnic Chinese but is not included in the Chinese immigration totals. This table, then, is a general rather than specific view of immigrant Chinese residential patterns.

As indicated, Monterey Park is the second most selected city for Chinese immigrants coming to America. These statistics indicate the rapid growth of Monterey Park within the last twenty years.

[Bargraph]

The implementation of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 significantly decreased the numbers of Chinese immigrants in the United States. It is only with the implementation of the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act and more recent laws that we see an increase of Chinese immigrants and family reunification.

[English Proficiency Map]

The San Gabriel Valley is home to large numbers of monolingual Chinese. This high concentration allows the Chinese immigrants to survive in this country without using English.

Part II
Setting Roots and Building Community in the San Gabriel Valley

Unfavorable Chinatown conditions due to urban density, high housing costs, and low housing availability motivated many Chinese Americans and recent Chinese immigrants to move to the San Gabriel Valley. The Valley offered affordable housing and a good suburban environment to raise a family in. This migration which started in Monterey Park gradually moved to other San Gabriel Valley areas: Alhambra, Altadena, Arcadia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Covina, Diamond Bar, Duarte, El Monte, Glendora, Hacienda Heights, Industry, Irwindale, La Canada, La Puente, La Verne, Monrovia, Pasadena, Pomona, Rosemead, San Dimas, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierre Madre, South Pasadena, Temple City, Walnut, West Covina.

[Population Shift Map]

Once settled, Chinese Americans and recent Chinese immigrants infused themselves in all aspects of community life. Many were active in city and community politics. such as Honorable Lily Lee Chen became the first Chinese American Council member and mayor of Monterey Park. Her legacy is continued by Judy Chu who is also now mayor of Monterey Park. Samuel Kiang was a Monterey Park councilmember. Today, a few more notable Chinese Americans are serving on different city councils, commissions, and local school boards.

Those not interested in politics are active in the community and business arena. Community based organizations help serve different sectors of the community and Chinese businesses help develop the local economy with international investments and businesses mixed with small businesses and mom and pop stores and restaurants.

Chinese at Selected San Gabriel Valley Cities as Percentage of Total Chinese Population in Los Angeles County, 1950-1990
City Percentage
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
Alhambra 0.29 0.29 0.80 4.31 8.69
Arcadia 0.01 0.10 0.06 0.68 2.93
Covina n.a. 0.16 0.16 0.19 0.41
Diamond Bar n.a. n.a. 0.04 0.43 1.78
El Monte n.a. 0.08 0.19 0.35 2.77
Hacienda Heights n.a. n.a. 0.28 1.70 3.20
La Puente n.a. 0.13 0.06 0.09 0.23
Montebello 0.00 0.05 1.30 3.11 1.43
Monterey Park 0.11 1.79 5.39 8.62 8.97
Pasadena 1.55 1.45 1.95 1.81 1.27
Rosemead n.a. 0.09 0.23 1.41 4.42
Rowland Heights n.a. n.a. 0.07 0.34 1.90
San Gabriel 0.12 0.09 0.12 0.90 3.12
San Marino 0.01 0.02 0.04 0.52 1.37
South El Monte n.a. n.a. 0.06 0.08 0.22
South Pasadena 0.15 0.06 0.65 1.44 1.27
South San Gabriel n.a. 0.09 0.15 0.16 0.47
Temple City n.a. 0.03 0.12 0.36 1.48
Walnut n.a. n.a. 0.06 0.27 1.49
West Covina n.a. 0.15 0.29 1.25 1.79
Ethnoburb 2.24 4.59 12.02 28.03 49.21
Los Angeles City 87.81 80.07 67.03 47.31 27.42
Number of Chinese in LA County 9,187 19,286 40,798 93,747 245,033
Sources: Bureau of the Census, Dept. of Commerce, U.S.A.,
1990 Census of Population and Housing Summary Tape File 1A;
1980 Census of Population Pt.6 California Table 15 pp.20-29;
1970 Census of Population Pt.6 California Table 23 pp.100-01;
1960 Census of Population Pt.6 California Table 26 pp.189-95; and
1950 Census of Population Pt.5 California Table 47 p.179.

This chart shows the gradual increase of Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants living in the San Gabriel Valley. The two largest Chinese communities can be found in Monterey Park and Alhambra.

[Chinese Percentage Map]

According to the 1990 census, the concentration of Chinese was still in Chinatown, but areas around the San Gabriel Valley are fast becoming the most popular choices for Chinese to reside in.

Part III
Interethnic Relationships

With the influx of Chinese immigrants, the San Gabriel Valley area became a site of conflict and later a place for developing coalition work and community harmony. On the one hand, longtime residents felt displaced in their own communities due to the increased numbers of Chinese moving to the area and the rapid development of their city which soon followed. On the other hand, newly settled immigrants felt persecuted and alienated, believing there was a lack of tolerance for their culture.

However, out of all this conflict came genuine efforts from community members of different backgrounds to work together and to help build community partnerships. In this sense, conflict that was born out of misunderstanding led to genuine efforts to create a more cohesive community.

Part IV
Expanding Community

The Chinese communities of the San Gabriel Valley have spilled beyond the original confines of Monterey Park and Alhambra. In many cases, the movement of Chinese to the San Gabriel Valley has gone as far east as Walnut. In most areas, the Chinese have brought important investment and businesses to these communities, thus revitalizing the local economy.

As the Chinese American presence continues to impact all areas of American life thus enriching local and national economy and culture, the continually evolving settlement of Chinese in the San Gabriel Valley will be a vital part in creating our history in the United States.



[Home]
Home


Content is Copyright 1999 Museum of Chinese American History in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, USA
All rights reserved.