About

Walk in the footsteps of Chinese railroad workers on this historic interpretive tour and teachers’ workshop through America’s Sierra Nevada mountains. Along the way, you will discover Chinese American history and visit culturally significant sites such as Summit Tunnel, China Wall, Bloomer Cut, and more.

The 2-day/1-night tour is organized by the 1882 Foundation in partnership with the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The University of California Davis History Project will also offer a K-12 Teachers’ Workshop as a part of this tour.

UPDATE: Due to COVID-19, we will not be running a tour in 2020. To stay up to date with details and registration for our next tour in Fall 2021, please submit an interest form here.

Bloomer Cut

Dates and Inclusions

Fall 2021 Dates: TBD
Tour Start: Departing from the California State Railroad Museum parking lot
Package Price: $300 USD (double-occupancy room*)

What’s Included:

  • Guided tour of sites led by a California State Park Interpretive Specialist
  • Roundtrip transportation from Sacramento, CA to Reno, NV, by private coach eastbound and by Amtrak train westbound (2 lunch boxes provided)
  • One night hotel room in Reno, NV (double occupancy), all taxes included
  • Admission to the California State Railroad Museum

Not Included:

  • Meals not listed or any leisure activities (ex. shopping)
  • Travel (before or after the tour) or parking in Sacramento
  • Single occupancy hotel room adds $100 ($400 total)*

A note on risk and accessibility: This tour is conducted in English and includes extensive walking and standing, including hiking on rough paths or rocks. Translation or interpreting services are generally not included. However, we will take note of any accommodations you may disclose and do our best to meet your needs. Additionally, participating in any outdoor activity can pose an element of risk and you assume responsibility for your own safety and equipment.

Our interpreter Phil Saxon
Hiking at China Wall

It is no stretch of the imagination to say that the modern United States would not have existed without the contributions of Chinese railroad workers. Following their arrival in the U.S. in the mid-1800s, the workers quite literally laid the foundations for the Transcontinental Railroad, enabling the U.S’s continued Westward Expansion throughout the 19th- and early 20th centuries. In spite of their contributions, however, these workers were subjected to horrific mistreatment and violent discrimination as they attempted to carve out a space for themselves in an entirely foreign land. Shortly after the railroad’s completion, Congress passed the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which provided a 10 year moratorium on all Chinese immigration into the United States. Coupled with systematic efforts to erase the contributions of Chinese railroad workers from history, the Chinese workers which enabled the railroads’ completion were mostly forgotten until recent efforts in the 21st century sought to shed new light on their place in American history. This initiative of the 1882 Foundation hopes to commemorate the work that they did, while honoring the suffering they endured to find a place for themselves in America.

The Return to Gold Mountain Tour group at the California State Railroad Museum