<P> The Chinese came to California in large numbers during the California Gold Rush , with 40,400 being recorded as arriving from 1851 to 1860 , and again in the 1860s when the Central Pacific Railroad recruited large labor gangs , many on five - year contracts , to build its portion of the Transcontinental Railroad . The Chinese laborers worked out well and thousands more were recruited until the railroad 's completion in 1869 . Chinese labor provided the massive labor needed to build the majority of the Central Pacific 's difficult railroad tracks through the Sierra Nevada mountains and across Nevada . The Chinese population rose from 2,716 in 1851 to 63,000 by 1871 . In the decade 1861 -- 70 , 64,301 were recorded as arriving , followed by 123,201 in 1871 -- 80 and 61,711 in 1881 -- 90 . 77 % were located in California , with the rest scattered across the West , the South , and New England . Most came from Southern China looking for a better life ; escaping a high rate of poverty left after the Taiping Rebellion . This immigration may have been as high as 90 % male as most immigrated with the thought of returning home to start a new life . Those that stayed in America faced the lack of suitable Chinese brides as Chinese women were not allowed to emigrate in significant numbers after 1872 . As a result , the mostly bachelor communities slowly aged in place with very low Chinese birth rates . </P>
<P> The Chinese came to California in large numbers during the California Gold Rush , with 40,400 being recorded as arriving from 1851 to 1860 , and again in the 1860s when the Central Pacific Railroad recruited large labor gangs , many on five - year contracts , to build its portion of the Transcontinental Railroad . The Chinese laborers worked out well and thousands more were recruited until the railroad 's completion in 1869 . Chinese labor provided the massive labor needed to build the majority of the Central Pacific 's difficult railroad tracks through the Sierra Nevada mountains and across Nevada . The Chinese population rose from 2,716 in 1851 to 63,000 by 1871 . In the decade 1861 -- 70 , 64,301 were recorded as arriving , followed by 123,201 in 1871 -- 80 and 61,711 in 1881 -- 90 . 77 % were located in California , with the rest scattered across the West , the South , and New England . Most came from Southern China looking for a better life ; escaping a high rate of poverty left after the Taiping Rebellion . This immigration may have been as high as 90 % male as most immigrated with the thought of returning home to start a new life . Those that stayed in America faced the lack of suitable Chinese brides as Chinese women were not allowed to emigrate in significant numbers after 1872 . As a result , the mostly bachelor communities slowly aged in place with very low Chinese birth rates . </P>
when did the chinese work on the railroad
when did the chinese work on the railroad
1860s
1860s