The Pacific Railroad was ground broken on January 8th, 1863 and completed on May 10th, 1869. On May 10, 1869, the word “DONE” was telegraphed to Washington D.C. and the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad was officially declared complete.

154 years later, on May 10, 2023 (today), we opened this Chinese Railroad Workers Center.

The center’s purpose: is not to forget Chinese Railroad Worker’s contribution to this country;

The center’s goal: is to give voice to the voiceless;

The center’s spirit: is to remember the past, and inspire the future.

It was the Chinese Railroad workers who built the hardest section of 700 miles through the Sierra mountains.

It was the Chinese Railroad Workers who made the record speed of building 10 miles of new tracks per day.

It was the Chinese Railroad Workers who laid out the last mile of railroad tracks and nailed down the last iron spike on it.

The famous picture “East & West shaking hand at the laying of the last nail celebration photos”, at Promontory Summit in Utah; in that picture Chinese Railroad Workers faces are nowhere to be seen.

In the U.S. Railroad History, Chinese Railroad Workers’ names were nowhere to be mentioned.

Even though their faces were not in the celebration picture; their names not recorded in any history record, that does not mean they did not exist; that they were not there.

In 1865, then CA Governor Leland Stanford testified to U.S. Congress, “Without these Chinese Railroad Workers it would be impossible to complete the Western portion of this great national enterprise.”

As a Chinese American, I feel a personal obligation to do something for these unsung heroes.

I discussed with many people on where the location should be for the Chinese Railroad Workers Center, and finally I decided it is in San Francisco Chinatown. It is a meaningful place to honor the Chinese Railroad Workers, and also to improve Chinatown’s business; help restore Chinatown’s economy after the pandemic.

I purchased the building on 8-8-2022 and right away started remodeling construction. Within 8 months’ effort, we are here to celebrate the opening. During the 8-months process, I really appreciate & feel that the whole Chinese community was behind me and is with me.

This building is the ideal place to introduce Chinese Railroad Workers to the large because it is at the gate of Chinatown from the Financial district & downtown and the ease of public transportation, to welcome local visitors and tourists from all over the world.

Behind me here, they are the exact replica of the original locomotives that the two met on May 10, 1869. Due to the space limit, we have to sized it down. They are made by real iron and all parts, colors and details are exactly copied down from the original design.

This Center will serve as a multi-function gathering place for all kinds of activities. Downstairs, it will have rooms for offices, classes or small seminars, for everyone from any background to learn and to know about Chinese-Americans & Asian-Americans history in the U.S.

Especially this month of May, is also the AAPI heritage month. This center will provide the true picture & stories of Chinese (Asian) Americans in this country, to send a positive message to the public. Hope Chinese Railroad Workers’ contribution to the formation of this country will be better represented. And hope we can reduce and stop the Anti-Asian sentiment and crime against Asians.

As a first-generation Asian American who was born in China, immigrated to America, and have been an American citizen for 60 years. Even so, I often still ask myself: who am I? I often identify myself as having two mothers: America and China. However, it is different for me and to the 2nd and 3rd generation Asian Americans who were born and raised in America.

The Chinese Railroad Worker’s story tells us that Chinese Americans came to this country seeking opportunity,freedom, and the American dream, just like so many others from Europe, Latin America, Africa, and other parts of the world. All of them are part of the rich fabric of this country that makes us all American.

We enlarged the last nail Golden Spike which is displayed in the center; to me, the last nail Golden Spike does not only represent the completion of the magnificent Transcontinental Railroad, but also represents the everlasting contribution of Chinese Americans to the growth and development of this country.

The last nail Golden spike, which as a symbol nailed down the East & West railroad tracks and connected America’s East & West coastlines, also nailed down Chinese Americans as an integral part of this great nation, called the United States of America.

May God continue to unite our country as the Golden Spike unites the two great Oceans: The Pacific Ocean & the Atlantic Ocean.

Thank you.

-Florence Fang

從1863年1月8日開始修建，歷時6年，太平洋鐵路1869年5月10日通車。當“完成”一詞當天通過電報傳到華盛頓特區，宣告了美國橫跨大陸鐵路正式通車。

154年後， 2023年5月10日，“鐵路華工歷史中心”在舊金山開幕。

中心的宗旨是：不忘華工對於這個國家所做出的貢獻；

中心的目標是：為沉默者發聲；

中心的精神是：緬懷過去，啟迪未來。

是華工，在塞拉山區修建了橫跨大陸鐵路全線最艱難的700英里路段；

是華工，創造了每天修建10英里新軌的紀錄；

是華工，鋪設了橫跨大陸鐵路最後一英里，釘下了最後一顆鐵釘。

鐵路合龍之時，在猶他州 Promontory 山峰峰頂拍攝的那張著名的照片——“東

西部在鋪設最後一根鐵軌時握手”裏，沒有華工的面孔。在美國的鐵路歷史中，華工的名字也沒有被提及。

盡管他們的面孔沒有出現在慶祝照片中，他們的名字也沒有被記錄在任何歷史記錄中，但這並不意味著他們不存在或沒有參與其中。

1865年，時任加州州長的勒蘭·斯坦福在美國國會作證時說道：“如果沒有這些華工，是不可能完成這項偉大國家創舉的西部工程。”

身為一名華裔美國人，我感到有義務為這些默默無聞的英雄做些什麽。

我和很多人研究了“鐵路華工歷史中心”的地點應該選擇在哪裏，最後我決定將它建在舊金山唐人街。這是一個很有意義的地方，可以紀念華工的貢獻，同時也可以促進唐人街的商業發展，幫助唐人街從疫情帶來的經濟危機中恢復。

我在2022年8月8日購買了這座建築並立即開始了建設。經過8個月的努力，我們終於迎來了開業慶典。在這8個月的過程中，我非常感謝並感受到整個華人社區都在支持我，並與我同在。

這座建築正是最合適向世界介紹鐵路華工的地方，它交通十分便利，位於唐人街通向金融街和舊金山市中心的門戶，迎接著來自本土的參觀者和世界各地的遊客們。

在我身後，是1869年5月10日東西部終於相連時的原始機車的精確復制品。由於空間限制，我們不得不將它們縮小。它們是由真正的鋼鐵制成，所有零件、顏色和細節都與原始設計相同。

這個中心將作為一個多功能的聚會場所，適合各種活動。樓下，它將有辦公室、教室或小型研討會室，讓每個人都可以了解和學習華裔美國人以及亞裔美國人的歷史。

特別是這個五月份，也是AAPI （亞裔及太平洋島國遺產月）。中心將提供華裔（亞裔）美國人在這個國家的真實形象和故事。希望能更好地展示鐵路華工對這個國家建設的貢獻。傳頌給大眾一個正面的信息，希望可以減少和停止對針對亞裔的惡意和犯罪。

作為一個出生於中國、移民到美國並成為美國公民60年的第一代亞裔美國人，我經常說我有兩個母親：美國和中國。對於在美國出生和長大的第二代和第三代亞裔美國人來說，情況是不同的。

鐵路華工的故事告訴我們，華裔美國人來到這個國家尋求機會、自由和夢想，就像來自歐洲、非洲、拉丁美洲和世界其他地區的許多人一樣，所有人一起組成了這個豐富多彩的國家，我們都是美國人。

我們放大了這顆最後的道釘，展示在這個大廳內。對我來說，最後一枚金釘不僅代表了宏偉的橫貫大陸鐵路的完成，也代表了華裔美國人對這個國家的成長和發展所做出的永久貢獻。

最後的這一枚釘子，釘牢了東西部鐵路軌道和美國東西海岸的連接，也釘牢了華裔美國人作為美利堅合眾國偉大民族不可分割的一部分。

願上帝繼續將我們的國家團結在一起，就像金釘將太平洋和大西洋兩個偉大的海洋連接在一起。

感謝您。

方李邦琴

2023年5月10日