Crossing the Salt

In the 1800s, after losing the Opium Wars to England, China was forced to open its borders to trade. This defeat, combined with devastating droughts and floods, plunged the country into economic turmoil, leaving many hungry and desperate. Amid this hardship, rumors spread across the Pacific about a mountain of gold in northern California.

These whispers of opportunity inspired 20,000 Chinese men to board steamships, carrying little more than a small suitcase and the hope of finding riches to support the families they left behind. Their journey began in the Pearl River Delta, passed through Hong Kong, and stretched across 6,000 treacherous nautical miles to the American West Coast in search of Gam Saan—the “Gold Mountain.”