Shipment to China

Shipment to China honors the thousands of Chinese immigrants who helped to build the transcontinental Northern Pacific Railroad in the mid-1800s. Although their contribution to the growth of this region is significant, most of their stories and identities are undocumented.

Haiying Wu, also known as Jason Wu, is a Chinese American artist. Wu created this sculpture for his master’s thesis at the University of Washington. Wu donated this sculpture to the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation who chose to display it here, the site of the original railroad. Visit the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park on the city’s waterfront to honor and learn more about the Chinese community's contributions to this region.

10 members of a Northern Pacific Railroad crew posing by locomotive no. 457 on the Stampede Tunnel line, in either King or Kittitas County, WA, ca. 1885. Courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2015.0.316.

A detail of some of the names featured on the memorial. Courtesy City of Tacoma.

How did local history inspire this project?

• In the mid to late 1800s, nearly 17,000 Chinese came to the United States to build the Northern Pacific Railroad that connected the Great Lakes to the Puget Sound.
• Working conditions were extremely dangerous. Chinese workers navigated mountain and desert terrain, using explosives to clear tunnels for the rails.
• Living conditions and wages for the Chinese workers were poor. Unlike Euro-American workers who were provided with shelter, Chinese immigrants often slept outside along the tracks or in makeshift tents.
• Many Chinese workers died from the harsh conditions. This artwork was inspired by a Chinese practice of exhuming remains, cleaning and packing the bones in boxes to return them to the deceased’s homeland for reburial. The sheet metal or wood boxes used historically were larger than those depicted in this sculpture, with some reaching 36 inches in length by 12 or more inches wide.
• When the railroad was complete, some Chinese workers and families settled in Tacoma. They encountered harassment and discrimination that compelled over 400 Chinese to leave in search of more welcoming communities. In November, 1885, the Mayor of Tacoma and a band of armed men drove the remaining 200 Chinese residents out of town. Known as the Tacoma Method, this forced expulsion and ongoing discrimination effectively kept Chinese people out of Tacoma until the 1920s.

1885 broadside. Courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 1903.1.4.

A native of China, Haiying Wu was a professional sculptor before emigrating to the US. In 1989, he participated in demonstrations in his hometown of Chengdu, getting caught in the square when the military attacked demonstrators.  Wu emigrated to the U.S. in the same year. He created this piece while a graduate student at the University of Washington. A prolific artist, his work can be found in Seattle, Lynnwood, Tacoma, Redmond, and in Chengdu, in the Sichuan province of China.

According to Wu,“This piece shows the bitterness of the Chinese experience in America during that time, for the railroad built by their efforts was the same transportation used to carry them out of Tacoma.” 

Thanks to the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation for contributing this important piece for exhibition on the Prairie Line Trail, now displayed on the very tracks that the Chinese worked tirelessly to build.

Got a personal connection, story, or inspirational comment you'd like to share about what you've experienced on the Prairie Line Trail? Here's your chance to make your story part of history.

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