One hundred ten years ago, Chinese labourers transformed central California from a swamp to an agricultural powerhouse – and built a bustling Chinese-run town once called the "Monte Carlo of California" in the process.

Fifty miles south of Sacramento, a network of canals, marshes and bogs fed by rain from the Sierra Nevada mountains forms the tranquil California Delta. Over the years, waves of immigrants have settled in this fertile area along the Sacramento River, but amid the vineyards and family-owned farms dotting the area, the small town of Locke, California, holds a unique place in history as the only settlement in the US developed by Chinese people for Chinese people.

Locke's narrow Main Street looks more like an alley. Weathered, centuries-old wooden buildings and houses with overhanging balconies flank each side of the road, transporting visitors to a time when this 60-person community was once a bustling Chinese hub replete with schools, a movie theatre, hotels and restaurants.

Today, 110 years after its founding, Locke remains the best-preserved example of the rural Chinese settlements that once dotted Northern California – and the only one where some of the town's original descendants still live and run businesses. With its former Chinese school, boarding houses, gambling halls and men's associations now preserved as museums, visiting the US' last rural Chinese town offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of Chinese immigrants and their cultural influence on their new homeland.

When news of the California Gold Rush reached China in 1848, thousands of Chinese prospectors flocked to the Sierra foothills hoping get rich. The Chinese referred to California as Gam Saan or "Gold Mountain" and enjoyed initial success before other resentful miners attempted to drive them out. In 1850, California imposed a hefty Foreign Miner's Tax aimed at Chinese prospectors, and they were soon violently targeted by other miners. Eventually, many Chinese workers turned to other opportunities, such as farming and building the Transcontinental railroad.

Hike the Gam Saan Trail

In 2022, the Locke Foundation and descendants of the California Delta's early Chinese residents inaugurated the 2.5-mile Gam Saan Trail, connecting Hennigsen Lotus Park with the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.

The California Swamp and Overflow Act of 1861 opened the Delta's once-inhospitable swampland to the possibility of agriculture by allowing landowners and private companies to drain it. This opportunity attracted thousands of immigrants from China's Guangdong (formerly Canton) region who were already skilled at draining swamps and building levees back home in the Pearl River Delta. These reclamation projects lead to the establishment of small settlements for Chinese labourers along the California Delta. Between 1860 and 1880, Chinese workers drained and reclaimed a staggering 88,000 acres of Delta soil, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape and helping to transform the region into the agricultural powerhouse it is today.

"The Chinese took immense pride in their work," said Carol Lee, who grew up in the Delta, attended Chinese school in Locke in the 1960s and plays a leading role in the Locke Foundation's Oral History Project, which educates the public about the town's legacy. "We didn't own the land, but we had the know how. We came from Pearl River Delta and knew how to develop the levees and farm the land."

But similar to the Gold Rush hostilities, many Chinese farm workers soon faced backlash from........

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