Sacramento’s Chinatown has played a central role in the history of the Chinese in America since the Gold Rush. It was named Yee Fow (Second City) by the early Chinese pioneers because it was the second stop by steamboat on the way to the gold country. In the 1960s, Sacramento’s Chinatown, one of the oldest Chinatowns in America, was largely torn down by redevelopment, but today Chinese Americans in the capital city are planning a Yee Fow Center for History, Culture, and Trade as they seek to remember the past and look to the future.

Author Lawrence Tom was a career executive appointee for the State of California. As a resident of Sacramento for more than 50 years, he has a great interest in preserving the history of the Chinese pioneers in the area. Coauthor Brian Tom is the founder of the Asian American Studies (AAS) program at the University of California, Davis, one of the first AAS programs in the country (founded in June 1969). He is the founder and director of the Chinese Ameican Museum of Northern California. This is their second book with Arcadia Publishing.

The Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.