Chinese Historical & Cultural Project upcoming events

MFM Exhibit: "WWI: America in the Great War" (thru June 6) (January 31, 2026)

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Step into the trenches of World War I and experience life at the front in Moffett Field Museum (MFM)’s most immersive exhibit yet.

Walk in the footsteps of a First World War soldier and discover how the Great War reshaped the modern world through unprecedented industrial warfare, global alliances, and rapid technological change. The United States entered the conflict in April 1917, joining Allied forces on the Western Front, and the war came to an end on November 11, 1918—forever altering technology, aviation, military strategy, and international relations.

This exhibit brings that history to life through a fully immersive walk-through trench, placing visitors in the environment faced by soldiers on the front lines. Surrounded by authentic artifacts, rare World War I vehicles, and a striking biplane, guests gain a deeper understanding of the realities of trench warfare and the innovation born from the conflict. This exhibit honors those who served and invites visitors of all ages to engage with the experiences and history of World War I.

MORE INFO & TICKETS

ATTENTION: To access Moffett Field, all visitors (18+) must present either:

A REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card, or
A valid passport

This is in accordance with federal law and is required to board domestic flights and to enter secure federal facilities and military bases.

SBHCACC/CHCP Ching Ming Ceremony (April 04, 2026)

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 17:30:00 GMT

Join the South Bay Historic Chinese American Cemetery Corporation (SBHCACC) and CHCP for the Ching Ming ceremony on April 4th at the Historic Chinese American Cemetery in San Jose.

Come to experience this Chinese ritual that will respect and honor the Chinese pioneers of the Santa Clara Valley. The Ching Ming ceremony is a traditional and cultural ritual and is observed in a picnic-like atmosphere, as a time for happy communion with ancestors.

CHCP will be participating in this event, to include presenting paper ingots for ceremonial offerings and taking part in reading the names of those buried there.

NEW for 2026: The Chinese American Scouts of America is setting up a kite-building booth. Kite flying has deep roots in the Ching Ming tradition — it's a way of celebrating Spring and sending wishes to the heavens.

For more information and optional RSVP: Historic Chinese American Cemetery

CAH Museum Open (April 04, 2026)

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 19:00:00 GMT

The Chinese American Historical Museum (CAHM) is housed in the Ng Shing Gung building, which is part of History Park, located in Kelley Park, San Jose.

Admission: Free

For more information (including parking, directions, slideshow, and virtual tour): visit our Museum page.

Ching Ming (April 05, 2026)

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 07:00:00 GMT

Ching Ming takes place on the 15th day after the spring equinox, and occurs on April 5th for 2026.

Ching Ming, Grave Sweeping Day, is a traditional Chinese celebration honoring ancestors. This custom is observed as a traditional and cultural ritual rather than a religious practice. For this occasion, families visit the cemeteries of their ancestors to pay their respects with offerings of flowers, incense, imitation paper money, and food. They also sweep and clean the gravesite.

Join CHCP on April 4, 2026 for the Ching Ming ceremony at the Historic Chinese American Cemetery in San Jose and witness how Ching Ming unfolds in a picnic-like atmosphere, observed as a time for happy communion with ancestors rather than a somber occasion.

For more details: Visit our Ching Ming page (part of our Virtual Library).

CHCA Plaque Dedication @ St. Helena Chinatown (April 11, 2026)

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 18:00:00 GMT

Along the Wine Train rails and beneath the open skies of Napa Valley, gather with the Chinatown History and Culture Association (CHCA) for a Plaque Dedication Ceremony at the historic site of St. Helena’s early Chinatown to honor the Chinese pioneers whose labor helped shape this valley.

Long before vineyards flourished and wine brought prosperity, Chinese workers cleared land, built roads, tended vines, dug cellars, and laid the foundations of the wine community we know today.

CHCA and the St. Helena Historical Society warmly invite members of the Chinese historical community, descendants, scholars, and friends to join them for a Taoist memorial blessing and commemorative gathering. This dedication ceremony will remember the early Chinese pioneers' perseverance, acknowledge their contributions, and restore their place in history.

All are welcome.

CAH Museum Open (April 11, 2026)

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 19:00:00 GMT

The Chinese American Historical Museum (CAHM) is housed in the Ng Shing Gung building, which is part of History Park, located in Kelley Park, San Jose.

Admission: Free

For more information (including parking, directions, slideshow, and virtual tour): visit our Museum page.

CHSA Panel Discussion: West Coast Chinatowns (April 12, 2026)

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 20:00:00 GMT

The Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) presents a very special introspective panel discussion about the various histories of Chinatowns in Portland, Oregon; San Jose, Red Bluff, and Marysville, California; and Washington State. Learn about the establishments and rise of these communities; the adversity faced during Exclusion era; and their present-day existences.

Join this conversation with authors and historians Bruce Chin, Trish Hackett Nicola, Brian Tom, CHCP Co-Founder/Trustee Gerrye Wong, and Dr. Kristin Wong.

Copies of the following Chinatown series books will be on sale $14 each:

Marysville
Tehama County
San Jose
Portland, Oregon
Washington State

This event includes a Q&A session, a book signing session, along with a lunch buffet with the authors.

TICKETS: $15 general admission

BUY TICKETS

NDCHS Presentation: "Birthright Citizenship & the 14th Amendment: A Re-Enactment of the Landmark Wong Kim Ark Case" (April 15, 2026)

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Join the Northern District Court Historical Society (NDCHS) for a re-enactment of the landmark Wong Kim Ark case with attorneys, judges, and high school students from the Northern District.

This program will be followed by a discussion of American identity and legal legacy featuring:

Ming Hsu Chen - Professor, UC Law SF
Center for Race, Immigration, Citizenship, and Equality
David Lei - Historian/Activist
Amanda Tyler - Professor, UC Berkeley Law
Thomas David & Judith Swope Clark Chair in Constitutional Law

There will also be special guests from the Wong Kim Ark Family.

In-person and virtual registration is free.

CAH Museum Open (April 18, 2026)

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 19:00:00 GMT

The Chinese American Historical Museum (CAHM) is housed in the Ng Shing Gung building, which is part of History Park, located in Kelley Park, San Jose.

Admission: Free

For more information (including parking, directions, slideshow, and virtual tour): visit our Museum page.

CHCP/MFM Speaker Series: "Chinese Americans in the Forgotten War: China-Burma-India WWII Operations" (April 18, 2026)

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Join CHCP at Moffett Field Museum (MFM) on April 18 for a presentation on "Chinese Americans in the Forgotten War: China-Burma-India World War II Operations."

CHCP will be screening their WWII China-Burma-India (CBI) documentary, Our Story of War and Remembrance: Chinese American WWII Veterans of the China-Burma-India Theatre. Through oral interviews of surviving WWII veterans and their family members, the CHCP film project team of both SDCAP students and adults tells the stories of four Bay Area Chinese American WWII veterans of the Fourteenth Air Force, successor to the Flying Tigers, in a moving documentary of patriotism as they served to defend the America that had denied them rights under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

A live mic will feature Chinese American WWII veterans and/or family members, a CBI historian, and a survivor of the Japanese invasion of a village in Southern China during WWII.

Also, CHCP will have their set of WWII CBI Banners for viewing. The complete set of 8 banners tells the story of the contributions of our patriotic Chinese American WWII veterans in the CBI theatre of war.

NOTE: Information concerning admission will be forthcoming.

ATTENTION: To access Moffett Field, all visitors (18+) must present either:

A REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card, or
A valid passport

This is in accordance with federal law and is required to board domestic flights and to enter secure federal facilities and military bases.

CHCP Opera: Echoes of Eureka (April 19, 2026)

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Please join the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project, the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, and Christ Episcopal Church on Sunday, April 19, at 4:00 pm to explore a fascinating chapter of the Chinese American experience in California through Echoes of Eureka, a multimedia program melding opera and film.

Eric Tuan’s opera Echoes of Eureka, performed by the 40 voices of the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, tells the true story of the 1885 expulsion of the Chinese community in Humboldt and their subsequent fight for justice and dignity. The opera is paired with Chisato Hughes’ powerful film Many Moons, in which Chinese community members search for those who may have survived Humboldt’s 1885 expulsion and 60 years of enforced exclusion – the only known survivor being Charlie Moon, whose descendants are Native tribal members. Moon's story is one of those told in Echoes of Eureka.

A panel discussion, featuring Tuan and Hughes, will follow to illuminate the genesis of the opera and film, and to explore this little-known facet of California’s history and its contemporary reflections, such as citizenship, immigration, and reparations.

This event is free and will be held at Christ Episcopal Church (1040 Border Road, Los Altos).

Please RSVP HERE to help us plan for the event and reception to follow.

Seminar: Create Family Videos with AI and PowerPoint (thru Jun 12) (April 24, 2026)

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 18:00:00 GMT

Various Bay Area libraries will be hosting a FREE seminar on the subject of Create Family Videos with AI and PowerPoint.

Location/Date/Time

Atherton Library, 2 Dinkelspiel Station Ln, Atherton, CA, March 5, Thursday, 1 – 3 PM
Pacifica Sharp Park Library, 104 Hilton Way, Pacifica, CA, March 15, Sunday, 12 – 2 PM
Belmont Library, 1110 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont, CA, April 24, Friday, 11 AM – 1 PM
Foster City Library, 1000 E Hillsdale Blvd, Foster City, CA, June 7, Sunday, 1 – 3 PM
San Carlos Library, 610 Elm St, San Carlos, CA, June 12, Friday, 12 – 2 PM

Seminar Highlights

Use AI and ChatGPT to craft narration for family stories
Design PowerPoint slides for storytelling with AI assistance
Turn your stories into narrated family history videos
Learn the full filmmaking process: story → slides → video
Familiarity with PowerPoint is useful

Session Abstract

Everyone has a story worth remembering. In this engaging multimedia lecture, Create Family Videos with AI and PowerPoint, you’ll learn how AI tools like ChatGPT can help turn cherished memories into beautifully narrated family history videos. Discover how AI can assist with writing narration, designing slides, and blending voice, images, and music to bring your story to life. Perfect for anyone who wants to preserve family stories for future generations. A basic familiarity with PowerPoint is suggested, but imagination and heart are the keys to creating lasting, meaningful stories.

About The Speaker: Ron Chan

Ron is a seasoned lecturer on family history documentation best practices, captivating audiences worldwide at genealogy workshops and libraries across the San Francisco Bay Area. As a published genealogy author, he has a passion for storytelling and teaches innovative technologies to bring ancestral tales to life. Ron is the Founder and Executive Director of the Bay Area Chinese Genealogy Group, dedicated to preserving ancestral stories. He is also a co-founder of the Chinese American GI Project, ensuring that veterans’ legacies are not lost, forgotten, or ignored. As a CHCP Advisory Board Member, Ron is a contributor to CHCP's Oral History Project. Ron shares with you how to capture and share family struggles of the past so future generations can embrace, remember, and learn from those who came before.

CAH Museum Open (during Printers' Fair) (April 25, 2026)

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 19:00:00 GMT

The Chinese American Historical Museum (CAHM) is housed in the Ng Shing Gung building, which is part of History Park, located in Kelley Park, San Jose.

The Museum will be open during the Bay Area Printers' Fair from 12:00 to 3:45 pm. The Printers' Fair runs from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

ADMISSION: Free

For Printers' Fair details: Printers’ Guild – SF Bay Area Printers’ Fair & Wayzgoose

For more Museum information (including parking, directions, slideshow, and virtual tour): visit our Museum page.

SCCLD Presentation: The Geary Act Project (May 03, 2026)

Sun, 03 May 2026 21:00:00 GMT

This Santa Clara County Library District (SCCLD) presentation by local historian Connie Young Yu addresses the "paper trail" of Chinese exclusion and the documentation of Chinese American history. Connie will speak about the historic implications of The Geary Act of 1892 that extended the Chinese Exclusion Act and required photo-identification for all Chinese in America. She will show slides from The Geary Act Project, an on-line gallery of certificates of residence, including those submitted by descendants of Chinese pioneers.

The purpose of the Project is to reveal a hidden chapter in American history about an unconstitutional act toward a race of people, with far reaching consequences: for truth and justice, for today, for all. This program is free and open to all.

About Connie Young Yu

Connie Young Yu is a writer and independent historian dedicated to documenting America’s immigration history for over a half century. She was involved in the preservation of the immigration detention building that led to the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay becoming a national monument. She was a founding member of Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) and is an Advisory Board Member and Historian for CHCP. Among her many works, she is the author of Chinatown, San Jose, USA, The Peoples Bicentennial Quilt Book and co-author of Hakone Estate and Gardens.

MORE INFO

Seminar: "China Roots: How to Trace Your Family History" (thru Sept 20) (May 23, 2026)

Sat, 23 May 2026 21:00:00 GMT

Various Bay Area libraries will be hosting a FREE seminar on the subject of China Roots: How to Trace Your Family History.

Location/Date/Time

CANCELLED FOR MOTHERS DAY: Castro Valley Library, 3600 Norbridge Ave, Castro Valley, CA, May 10, Sunday, 2 – 4 PM
Mountain View Library, 585 Franklin St, Mountain View, CA, May 23, Saturday, 2 – 4 PM
San Mateo Library, 55 W 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA, June 13, Saturday, 1 - 3 PM
Castro Valley Library, 3600 Norbridge Ave, Castro Valley, CA, Sept 20, Sunday, 2 – 4 PM

What you will learn

Research tools and resources to discover your China roots
Oral histories of a Chinese American family’s struggles
How 150 generations of family genealogy was found
ChiAm checklist of online, live and local genealogy groups
Interviews from Angel Island Immigration National Archives
Experience a visit to a Chinese ancestral village

Abstract

This multimedia session offers key resources to help you find and explore your China roots and access Chinese American research tools. Showcased are the struggles and assimilation of a Chinese American immigrant family through oral histories of hardship, poverty, segregation, discrimination, and a city’s formal apology—80 years in the making—come to life. Unsure of where your ancestral village is in China and how to find your jiapu (ancestral lineage book)? Learn how 150 generations of family genealogy was documented in China. You’ll receive a checklist of research resources – where to ask live and virtual questions, and details on attending a paid three-day Chinese American Genealogy Conference or joining the free Bay Area Chinese Genealogy Group. Can’t read Chinese? No problem using a Chinese-to-English translation tool. Discover how the National Archives in San Bruno can help uncover your Chinese ancestors’ interviews at the Angel Island Immigration Station, where 175,000 Chinese immigrants entered the U.S. between 1910 and 1940.

About The Speaker: Ron Chan

Ron is a seasoned lecturer on family history documentation best practices, captivating audiences worldwide at genealogy workshops and libraries across the San Francisco Bay Area. As a published genealogy author, he has a passion for storytelling and teaches innovative technologies to bring ancestral tales to life. Ron is the Founder and Executive Director of the Bay Area Chinese Genealogy Group, dedicated to preserving ancestral stories. He is also a Co-Founder of the Chinese American GI Project, ensuring that veterans’ legacies are not lost, forgotten, or ignored. As a CHCP Advisory Board Member, Ron is a contributor to CHCP's Oral History Project. Ron shares with you how to capture and share family struggles of the past so future generations can embrace, remember, and learn from those who came before.