See new trail named to honor Gold Rush Chinese immigrants at El Dorado County state park

Dozens gathered at the new Gam Saan Trail to dedicate the path that connects Lotus Road to the Monroe Ridge Trail in the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park on Friday morning, the 10th day of the Lunar New Year.

The trail, which starts at Henningson-Lotus Park in Lotus, is named for California’s gold rush years. Gam Saan, which translates to Gold Mountain, is how the Chinese referred to California, according to a news release from three Chinese American heritage organizations in the greater Sacramento area.

The ceremony included lion dancers and a Buddhist ritual.

“Today part of the ceremony is to remember the deceased Chinese immigrants, that their background... they probably wouldn’t have known that they will be remembered,” said Peggy Kao, of Roseville, at the dedication. “We are here to share that really precious moment.”

The trail, which ends in Coloma, is also home to a Chinese burial site. The organizations, which included the Locke Foundation, Chinese Benevolent Association of Stockton and the Chinese American Council of Sacramento, hosted the ribbon cutting ceremony to reclaim “a piece of California history during the Chinese New Year,” according to the release.

C.C. Yin, founder of Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs, talked of the American dream at the ceremony.

“The importance is what we do from here,” he said. “With all of the challenges we’ve had the past few years, we look for the future.

“... We don’t give up. And like the railroad and the gold miners here, the Chinese here, that remind us what we can do in the future is to work together, with all diversities, to celebrate diversity and the value and their contribution of their culture, their talent, to build America.”

The organizations were joined by California State Parks, El Dorado County Parks and the Gold Discovery Park Association.

This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.