Portland's Chinatowns Talk and Book Signing Free Event

This book presents a vivid visual history of Portland’s Chinatowns, tracing their cultural legacy through photographs spanning from the 1850s to the present. What began in the 1850s grew into the nation’s second‑largest Chinatown by the early 1900s, surpassed only by San Francisco’s.

Portland’s early Chinese residents faced exclusion, discrimination, and forced relocation—conditions that shaped what became the New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District. These photographs reveal their challenges, achievements, and lasting contributions, deepening our understanding of the American immigrant experience and honoring the resilience of a community that helped shape a vibrant, multicultural city.

Written in partnership with the Portland Chinatown Museum, this book features numerous images from the museum’s archive, with proceeds supporting its mission.

Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Dr. Kristin Wong is the author of Portland’s Chinatowns, a richly researched history that traces the evolution of Portland’s Chinese American communities from the mid‑19th century to the present. Her work brings together archival research, visual storytelling, and shared community memory to illuminate the resilience, labor, and cultural contributions of Chinese immigrants and their descendants.

Her interest in Chinese American history also extends to her work as a contributor to the website Chinese Workers in Salmon Canneries, where she helps document and preserve the stories of laborers whose contributions have long been overlooked. Her ongoing research centers on Chinese American labor along the West Coast and Alaska.

Alongside her historical work, Dr. Wong is a clinical pharmacist at Kaiser Permanente. She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from Touro University California, as well as degrees from Oregon State University and Portland State University.

This is a free event. Please pre-register seating is limited.