Chinese Americans

North Americacommercial economy

expand_more Description

Chinese Americans are an ethnic minority in the United States. They are the descendents of migrants from southern China. Chinese Americans mostly speak Cantonese; most of the younger people today are also fluent in English. The first immigrants arrived in 1848 and worked as laborers in mines, on railroads, and on farms and lived near their employment. However, with increased discrimination they moved to cities and established ethnic enclaves referred to as "Chinatowns," where they established services such as laundries and restaurants. By the late twentieth century many had moved out of the ethnic enclaves and found work in diverse occupations.

Identifier
Region
  • North America
Subregion
  • Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
Subsistence Type
  • commercial economy
Countries
  • United States