Meet the Author: “Portland’s Chinatowns” by Dr. Kristin Wong
August 1 @ 10:30 AM
Join local author Dr. Kristin Wong for a look at her new book, Portland’s Chinatown’s. Explore the deeply layered history of the Chinese American immigrant experience from the 1850s to present day through photographs and personal stories of resilience, family, and lasting legacies. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A with the author.
About the Book
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. It includes a foreword by historian Chuimei Ho, PhD, and is part of Arcadia Publishing’s “Images of America” series.
About the Author
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.
Parking & Directions
Free Lan Su Parking
There is free first come, first served parking in our sister lot next to the garden at 424 NW Third Avenue. Additional metered parking and garages are available on surrounding streets.
