Chinese Gold: The Movie

From Hidden History to the Silver Screen

Chinese Gold: The Movie brings to life the powerful stories first told in the award-winning book Chinese Gold by historian Sandy Lydon. The book traces the untold history of Chinese immigrants in the Monterey Bay region — their backbreaking labor in fishing, agriculture, and railroads, and their resilience in the face of prejudice and exclusion.

Though their names were often erased from official histories, their presence shaped the very foundation of the region. As Lydon writes:

“Though the Chinese are not explicitly mentioned in the local and regional histories, if you hold each page to the light you can make out a faint pattern. The longer you look, the stronger the pattern becomes. The Chinese are in the very paper, they are the watermark.”

The film adapts three unforgettable family stories from the book, weaving together their struggles, survival, and legacy into a vivid narrative. These stories, once nearly forgotten, now find a new voice on screen, offering a window into the courage and creativity of Chinese pioneers who helped shape California.

More than a film, Chinese Gold is a bridge — linking past and present, honoring the pioneers of Monterey Bay while inspiring new generations to see how their stories shine beneath the moonlight of history.

Why We Are Making Chinese Gold: The Movie

To Unearth Forgotten History
The film shines a light on the largely untold stories of Chinese immigrants who labored, lived, and contributed to the Central Coast of California over a century ago. Many built railroads, dug tunnels, ran laundries and fisheries, and contributed to the economy in immeasurable ways — yet their names were left out of history books. This film brings them back into the story.

“If we don’t tell our stories, they will be lost forever.”

To Honor the Pioneers’ Sacrifices
In places like the Santa Cruz Mountains, Chinese laborers died blasting tunnels and carving through granite — under dangerous and discriminatory conditions. This movie honors those sacrifices and gives voice to generations whose courage and endurance helped shape the American West.

To Connect the Past with the Present
Many of us are descendants of immigrants or immigrants ourselves. Chinese Gold isn’t just about the past — it’s about how that history still echoes today. It speaks to issues of race, migration, identity, and belonging that remain deeply relevant.

To Educate the Public
Few people, even in California, know the full story of Chinese communities in places like Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and Monterey Bay. This documentary will serve as an educational resource for schools, libraries, museums, and community centers — filling a critical gap in public knowledge.

To Preserve Community Memory
This project is also about collecting oral histories, photographs, letters, and personal memories before they disappear. It’s a gift to the next generation — preserving family stories, honoring ancestors, and building cultural pride.

To Celebrate Resilience and Hope
Despite exclusion laws, violence, and poverty, early Chinese immigrants built businesses, raised families, and created thriving communities. Their resilience is inspiring. This film celebrates not only what was lost — but also what survived.

To be shown

Opening ceremony photos of Chinese Gold: The Movie

Behind-the-scenes images of the filming process

An exclusive promotional trailer screening(coming soon) 

The Author: Sandy Lydon

Sandy is Historian Emeritus at Cabrillo College where he taught Asian and Asian American History beginning in 1968. He was a Fulbright scholar at the East-West Center, Honolulu where he studied East Asian History and Japanese. He made his first visit to Japan in 1966 on a State Department scholarship, and led his first group to Japan in 1974. Since then he has led groups to China, Mongolia, Siberia, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Ireland and the United Kingdom. He has written widely on the history of Asian immigrants to the Monterey Bay Region including the award-winning Chinese Gold, and the Japanese in the Monterey Bay Region.

According to Sandy Lydon, in Chinese Gold, if we look diligently, however, we will indeed find their marks indelibly etched in these seaside towns: “Though the Chinese are not explicitly mentioned in the local and regional histories, if you hold each page to the light you can make out a faint pattern. The longer you look, the stronger the pattern becomes. The Chinese are in the very paper, they are the watermark.”

About The Book

Bending to back-breaking work in the fields, on the water, and in service to rail lines, Chinese immigrants to the Monterey Bay area poured sweat and ingenuity into the industries that drove nineteenth-century economic growth: fishing, agriculture, and railways. And yet, ask a passerby in downtown Santa Cruz about the location of a historic Chinatown, and you will likely be met with a blank stare.

“Few people realize that bustling Chinatowns once thrived in Monterey, Watsonville, Santa Cruz, and Salinas. Just as few realize that were it not for the Chinese, the region’s tourist industry and phenomenally productive agriculture might never have been. This first-ever study of the Chinese in the Monterey Bay Region traces their history from the arrival of the first fishing people in the 1850s to the contributions of present-day leaders in the community. In recovering a history made invisible by neglect and prejudice, Chinese Gold sheds light on the whole of Chinese experience in America, revealing the proud saga of a resourceful, inventive, and courageous people who pursued the American dream against incredible odds” – Provided by publisher.

In fact, 98 Chinese lived in the towns and villages that dotted this coastal crescent in 1880. They built homes, developed businesses and set down roots – their descendants are today among the most prominent and prosperous of local families. Yet, their stories are largely untold. Dancing between distrust of government agencies and fear of common prejudice, many chose to live as quietly and anonymously as possible. In an era marked by such catastrophic policy as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, passing unnoticed afforded them some personal and economic protection. Obscurity was both a survival mechanism and also an unfortunate result of a socially marginalized existence. Bending, but not breaking, they worked, they raised families, and they built communities but in most cases, they left barely a trace.

The Director: Tongdao Zhang

Documentary Filmmaker, Author, and Professor

Zhang Tongdao is a distinguished documentary filmmaker, author, and professor based in Beijing. A graduate of Beijing Normal University, his work explores Chinese society, culture, and human relationships through a deeply humanistic lens. His acclaimed films, including The Residents’ Committee and Post-00s, have garnered international recognition and won honors such as the Best Director Award at the Canada China International Film Festival. With a unique storytelling voice, Zhang offers rare insights into contemporary Chinese life and the dynamics of generational change.

Learn More

About Santa Cruz Chinatown: https://www.santacruz.org/blog/the-last-chinatown-in-santa-cruz/

About Sandy Lydon: https://www.sandylydon.com/

About George Ow: https://www.goodtimes.sc/george-ows-chinatown/

About Rui Li and Flex Kids Culture: https://www.flexkids.org/

About Yiman Wang: https://eastasianstudies.ucsc.edu/faculty/index.php?uid=yw3