GUANGZHOU, China, May 13, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- News report from
GDToday
A storytelling event was held at the Utah State Capitol, U.S.,
on May 11, local time, in memory of
the Chinese railroad workers who contributed to the construction of
America's first transcontinental railroad from 1863 to 1869.
Themed "My Story with the Golden
Connection," the event was hosted by GDToday, an English news
outlet based in Guangzhou, the
capital city of Guangdong Province
in southern China. The province is
also home to most of the Chinese railroad workers.
Descendants of the Chinese railroad workers, as well as
representatives of Utah state
agencies, Chinese associations in the U.S., local organizations
such as the Golden Spike Foundation, and media organizations,
attended the event.
The event was held to honor the 155th Golden Spike Day. The golden spike is the
ceremonial final spike to join the rails of the first
transcontinental railroad across the U.S., connecting the Central
Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah.
Karen Kwan, the first and only
Chinese American senator and legislator in Utah, stressed the importance of holding the
storytelling event on the occasion of the Golden Spike in an
interview with GDToday.
"So many of the stories of the Chinese railroad workers were
lost. They were never told or they were ignored. They did the
hardest work for the lowest pay, and many of them didn't even have
their names recorded. It's my privilege and responsibility to make
sure that our communities are all being seen and heard," noted
Kwan.
Christopher Merrit, Utah State
Historic Preservation Officer, told GDToday that the Utah State
Historic Preservation Office is trying to find the remains of the
Chinese railroad workers that have not been returned to their
hometowns. "We know many of them still probably reside, ignored and
forgotten, but we can find ways to honor them."
Margret Yee, a fourth-generation
Chinese railroad worker descendant, founded the Chinese Railroad
Workers Descendants Association with Kwan in 2017 to preserve,
promote, and protect the contributions made by Chinese railroad
workers to the U.S.
"The transcontinental railroad was completed seven years ahead
of schedule because of the hard work and skills of the railroad
workers, especially the Chinese workers," Yee noted, "Our voice
must be heard."
To promote the story of Chinese railroad workers and showcase
the development of the workers' hometown, a photo exhibition themed
"The Golden Connection" is being put on by GDToday at both the Utah
State Capitol and the Utah Cultural Celebration Center. The
exhibition at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center will last until
June 26.
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SOURCE GDToday