California officials apologise for Chinatown burning after 145 years

A historian believes there could be many more Chinatowns that have disappeared off the map, after the Californian city of Antioch officially apologised for the burning-down of its own Chinese quarter 145 years ago.

The Chinatown in Antioch, which was founded by arrivals during the Gold Rush era, saw Chinese immigrants sell noodles and herbs from shopfronts on 1st and 2nd streets – but today, almost nothing remains of the neighbourhood.

As

Eventually, tensions between the city’s white and Asian residents would result in an attack that would almost wipe the community off the map for a century, after a doctor allegedly blamed illnesses among young men on Chinese prostitutes.