By Ingrid Lai, CHCP Outreach Vice-President

Bill and I went to San Diego to attend a graduation ceremony, and as suggested by CHCP Director Brenda Wong, we found time to visit the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum. Luckily, we bumped into CHCP Advisory Board Member Pinki Fung in San Diego, who was there attending a conference. She very kindly agreed to visit the museum with us and all the great photos were taken by her. We met a very nice docent at the museum from whom we learned a lot.

The museum's newest exhibit, CBI Victory!, is an 80th Anniversary retrospective of the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater, a theater of battle to which many Chinese and Chinese Americans contributed. It is curated by the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) and the Chinese American G.I. Project. The exhibit includes many historical photos, medals, and memorabilia, and will run until Sept. 7, 2025.

By Peter Young, CHCP Director and HELP Grant Chair

Rancho Milpitas Middle School held its annual Asian American Heritage Night Thursday, May 15th.  The event was held at the outdoor school quad and was partially funded by a CHCP HELP Grant that was used to purchase costumes, props, decorations, and cultural food items sold at the event.  Approximately 150 students, parents, and faculty members were treated to a variety of 11 ethnic Asian performances.  Performances included Bollywood, Vietnamese, K-Pop, Hawaiian, a Filipino Tinikling performance to a non-Filipino song, and a piano performance by the daughter of Rancho Milpitas Middle School faculty member Yen Mai.  Decorations included life-sized drawings of Asian costumes by the students.  CHCP Co-President Kimberly Eng Lee and Board Members Peter Young, Brenda Wong, and Edith Gong attended and shared information on CHCP and upcoming events with the attendees.

Dr. Kimberley Connor's talk on "Beer, Bitters, and Batteries: Glass from the Market Street Chinatown" presented the first results from a new analysis of glass containers and tablewares from the Market Street Chinatown in San Jose. Her presentation told us about everyday life in the Chinatown, technological changes in glassmaking, and the types of products consumed.

By Christina Li, SBHCACC Vice-President

This year’s Ching Ming Jie had many newcomers who came to learn about the land’s 100+ year history and participate in a cultural event that honors our ancestors. For me, it was especially meaningful as we were able to debut the monument from Black Pearls of Geneaology. This marble monument has a history of the cemetery and the names of those buried. We are already thinking of how to make the event more accessible to families next year!

View a KPIX/CBS News broadcast about the 2025 Ching Ming Ceremony at the Historic Chinese American Cemetery:

By Kimberly Eng Lee, CHCP Co-President

CHCP’s Vice-President of Education, Dr. Chris Jochim gave a bilingual workshop on April 4 at the Avenidas Chinese Community Center (ACCC) in Palo Alto. Dr. Jochim presented in both English and Mandarin about the importance of the local temples, compared the Chinese American Historical Museum (CAHM) (in the replica Ng Shing Gung building) to other Chinese American temples, explained the meaning of various couplets, and discussed why most early Chinese immigrants’ temples disappeared or became museums.

Attendees listened intently and participants had many questions about the topic, including who was responsible for upkeep of the Ng Shing Gung temple, where had the altar been stored after the temple closed, and what were relations like between Chinese residents of Heinlenville and adjacent Japantown.

CHCP Co-President Kimberly Eng Lee also described the still active Bok Kai Temple in Marysville, which CHCP visited in early March during the Bok Kai Festival.

For Women's Heritage Day at History Park, CHCP's Student Docent Cultural Ambassador Program (SDCAP) screened several short videos celebrating contributions and accomplishments of Chinese women from the past and the present.  SDCAP Members Zacharee Ho and Megan Tian assisted in presenting the videos.

By Russell Low, Guest Speaker

We celebrated Women's Month at San Jose's History Park in the Chinese American Historical Museum (Ng Shing Gung Museum). The upstairs temple provided a wonderful setting for the presentations. I was privileged to speak about my new book, which honors Tye Leung Schulze—a trailblazer for women's and human rights over a century ago. Standing just 4'9", Tye was a towering figure in Asian American history. She became the first Chinese woman to vote in 1912 and the first to hold a U.S. government job at Angel Island in 1910. She fought human trafficking alongside Donaldina Cameron and advocated for women's reproductive rights. Sharing her legacy with a new generation is an honor I deeply cherish. Tye's grandson, Ted Schulze, attended the presentation, adding a special and meaningful touch to the event.

NOTE: Russell Low was also a featured speaker at CHCP's 08/13/22 Spirit of '45 celebration.

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