China News Service, March 14. According to the US "World Journal" report, on the 12th, the opening ceremony of the photo exhibition "Silent Spikes: Finding the Footprints of Chinese Railway Workers" was held at the General Library of San Francisco, USA.
The event was jointly organized by the "Association of Chinese Railway Workers Descendants", the "San Francisco Chinatown History and Culture Association" and the San Francisco General Library. Municipal officials, Chinatown community leaders, industry representatives, and the Acting Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, Pan Qingjiang, etc. attended the opening ceremony.
Jessica Luo, curator of the "San Francisco Chinatown History and Culture Association" exhibition, said at the opening ceremony that she would like to thank the San Francisco Public Library for its support in preserving the history of Chinese in the United States, so that these photos representing the important historical facts of Chinese railway workers can be shared with different ethnic groups. Community exhibit.
Pan Qingjiang said that more than 150 years ago, tens of thousands of Chinese workers crossed the sea from China to the United States. They overcame harsh and harsh environments, endured various injustices, and completed the construction of the Pacific Railway with extraordinary perseverance and huge sacrifices. Social development has made important contributions and created a legend in the history of human engineering.
Pan Qingjiang said that the history of the construction of the Pacific Railway is not only the history of the overseas Chinese in the United States, but also the history of the overseas Chinese who actively participated in the economic and social construction of the United States. It should be fully recognized and respected, and it is worth remembering forever.
He thanked the Association of Chinese Railway Workers Descendants, the Chinatown History and Culture Association, and the General Library of San Francisco for jointly holding this photo exhibition, allowing people to relive this history and think about the future of overseas Chinese in the United States and Sino-US relations.
Many Chinatown leaders and historians who are involved in preserving the history of Chinese railway workers also said, "The history of Chinese railway workers is the history of our Chinese community." But unfortunately, discrimination against Chinese people continues to occur today, and it is not Forget the history of the hard work of Chinese immigrants, but also continue to work hard for the rights and interests of the Chinese.
The photo exhibit will be on display at the San Francisco General Library from January 19 through May 22, in celebration of the upcoming May Asian Heritage Month.
The photo exhibition is held at the Tianguang Gallery on the sixth floor of the San Francisco General Library at 100 Larkin Street in the city center, and is open to the public for free.
There are 30 photographic works on display in this exhibition, most of which are from Li Ju.
Li Ju is a freelance photographer living in Beijing. He once started from Sacramento, the capital of the state, and traced the footsteps of early Chinese railway workers all the way to Promontory Peak in Utah.
His picture works reproduce the great contribution of 12,000 to 20,000 Chinese workers in building the Great Pacific Railroad across the continental United States.
(Li Yi)