New landmark recognizes Chinese contributions to Yosemite

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. – A century-old building originally used as a laundry by Chinese workers at Yosemite’s iconic Wawona Hotel has been restored and turned into a visitor’s attraction, recognizing Chinese Americans’ contributions to the early history of the national park.

Officials unveiled a new sign Oct. 1 marking the Chinese Laundry Building in Yosemite Valley, the Fresno Bee reported. New exhibits inside tell the story of Chinese workers who helped build Tioga and Wawona roads, critical infrastructure that made tourism to the park possible.

The building – later used as a storage facility – is part of a cluster of structures that will make up the new Yosemite History Center, which will tell the histories of immigrants who made the park what it is today, said Park Ranger Adam Ramsey.

“Chinese people have been a big part of communities throughout the Sierra Nevada for a really long time, and it’s about time that we started sharing that history here in Yosemite,” Ramsey said.

According to research conducted by Park Ranger Yenyen Chan, in 1883 Chinese workers helped build the 56-mile Tioga Road in just 130 days. The stunning route across the Sierra Nevada reaches 10,000 feet in elevation and serves as one of the park’s main roads.

Many first came to California during the Gold Rush, bringing with them skills learned in China about construction, engineering, agriculture, medicine and textiles that made a significant impact in America’s early success, Chan said.

She said Yosemite’s Chinese history and their contributions were erased from memory because of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act passed by Congress to prevent any more Chinese from entering this country in search of work.

The law blocked Chinese immigration for 60 years in this country.

Members of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, who supported the building’s renovation, said they were gratified to see Yosemite include the Chinese in the park’s origin story.

“Something like this really resonates with a lot of people in my generation,” said Eugene Moy, a past president of the society.

JOHN WALKER /THE FRESNO BEE VIA AP Ed Hung, of San Francisco, takes a photo of a Chinese laborer in an exhibit in the restored 1917 Chinese laundry building after its Oct. 1 dedication in Yosemite National Park, Calif.