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Chinese in Colorado

by Alejandro Hernández on July 30, 2025

A Chinese man poses on a wooden sidewalk near a business district possibly in Colorado. A nearby sign on a building reads: "[?]ng Lee [La]undry".

Studio portrait of Chinese-American men who include Wa Chin and Tang Ya-Shun in Georgetown (Clear Creek County), Colorado. Wa Chin wears a long shirt and wide-brimmed hat. Tang Ya-Shun wears a suit and watch chain with a charm.

View of a hydraulic mining operation at Chinese Gulch, in (probably) Colorado; shows men working, eroded ground, sluices, and wheelbarrows.

Men (Chinese - American) dressed in traditional chinese clothing walk along side a chinese dragon during the Festival of Mountain and Plain parade in Denver, Colorado. Spectators watch from the grandstands.

View of a marching band in a funeral procession probably on Wazee Street in Denver, Colorado. They play instruments that include: baritones, trombones, clarinets, and trumpets. Buildings line the street.

Interior photograph of four musicians playing music (possibly) at the Lotus Lounge for the Chinese New Year Celebration. Each of the musicians wears a floral shirt; they play the guitar, keyboard, cello, and the ukulele.

Dr. James Underhill poses with Chinese-American miners (probably) in the Colorado School of Mines' Edgar Experimental Mine near Idaho Springs (Clear Creek County), Colorado. One man holds a saw.

Chinese men, women, and children stand outdoors near the Chinese Masonic Lodge Number 185 possibly at 1926 Market Street in Denver, Colorado. The two story building is decorated with bunting, paper lanterns, and banners with Chinese characters.

View of an anti-Chinese riot on a street in Denver, Colorado. Rioters assault Chinese men, throw belongings out of windows and use wooden beams to destroy frame buildings. Rioters wear hats and sack suits, and Chinese men have queues (braids) and wear shan ku (tunic and trousers) and bu xie (cotton shoes).

A Chinese-American man hangs a scroll with Chinese characters on a wall in a building on Hop Alley in Denver, Colorado. Celestial lays nearby and smokes possibly opium from a water pipe. Images of a dragon and flowers are on the wall.

View of Ching Chung and Company Chinese store at 2019 either Wazee or Blake Street in Denver, Colorado. Chinese characters are on a nearby sign.

A group of men, a Chinese man, and a woman stand near a brick building on Market Street in Denver, Colorado. A nearby sign reads: "Yee Lee & Co 2029 Market St." Chinese characters are also on the sign.

View of Hop Alley (between Wazee and Blake Streets) in Denver, Colorado. Men who include a Chinese man and a police officer stand near the brick buildings. A sign reads: "1417 Wing Gut Clothing Co." and has Chinese characters.

A man poses near a two-story wood frame building on either Wazee or Blake Street near Hop Alley in Denver, Colorado. Signs on nearby buildings and windows read: "2032", "Conway Bogue Realty Inv. Co. Real Estate In All Branches Fire Insurance 524 17th St", and "Public Station Local And Long Distance Telephone".

View of a building on Hop Alley in Denver, Colorado. The two-story building has a small metal gate over one of the doorways.

Men walk on Hop Alley (between Wazee and Blake Streets) in Denver, Colorado. Another group of men sit near an automobile.

Men and police officers stand in Hop Alley (between Blake and Wazee Streets) in Denver, Colorado. A sign on a brick building reads: "Colored Boxing Show Friday June 27 [...]".

Children and a dog stand in Hop Alley (between Wazee and Blake Streets) in Denver, Colorado. A sign on one of the buildings reads: "[?] Specialties Co. 2024 Blake".

View of the entrance to a building on Hop Alley in Denver, Colorado. The wooden door has a padlock and screened window. The address numerals read: "2051".

Men and boys stand in Hop Alley (between Market & Blake Streets) in Denver, Colorado. An automobile and a sign that reads: "Poultry" are in the distance.

A man walks in Hop Alley (between Wazee and Blake Streets) in Denver, Colorado. A water tower is on the roof of a building in the distance.

Men who include a police officer stand in Hop Alley (between Wazee and Blake Streets) in Denver, Colorado. A sign with Chinese characters is on a wood frame building.

A Chinese man, a white man, and a police officer stand near a building at 2032 Hop Alley (between Wazee and Blake Streets) near 20th (Twentieth) Street in Denver, Colorado.

Chinese miners work at a sluice possibly in Colorado. They wear long shirts and wide-brimmed hats.

View of a Chinese construction crew on the Union Pacific Railroad, the men sit and stand next to a white man on a railroad handcar near a rock formation.

Studio portrait of Sing Lee, a Chinese-American man, in Silver Cliff (Custer County), Colorado. He wears a shirt and skullcap.

View of a Flower Carnival parade entry, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado; shows "China Jim," a Chinese businessman, in a suit and planter hat with a wagon and team. Chinese in skullcaps peek over the float decorated with paper lanterns, umbrellas, and fans.

Interior view of a room decorated to commemorate the Chinese New Year in Denver, Colorado. Tables covered with cloth hold fruit displays and ceramic vases. Paper lanterns hang from the ceiling.

Chinese men carry banners and ride on horseback, part of the Festival of Mountain and Plain, in Denver, Colorado. Spectators line the street and sit in nearby grandstands.

View of a Chinese dragon in a parade, part of the Festival of Mountain and Plain, in Denver, Colorado. Spectators line the street.

Chinese women and an African-American man stand behind the counter of a liquor store in Denver, Colorado. Liquor bottles and displays read: "Cream of Kentucky," "Old Quaker," "Wilken Family," "Coca-Cola," and "Golden Wedding".

Studio portrait of Louis Moon, probably a Chinese American resident of Georgetown (Clear Creek County), Colorado. He wears a coat with wide lapels and a vest, both with bound edges, and a bow tie. He has a bushy circle beard (moutee).

Studio portrait of Robert Moon, probably a Chinese American resident of Georgetown (Clear Creek County), Colorado. He wears a jacket with wide lapels with bound edges, a vest and a bow tie. His hair is combed back and he wears a mustache and goatee.

Chinese men march in a parade, part of the Festival of Mountain and Plain, on 16th (Sixteenth) Street in downtown Denver, Colorado. They carry elaborately decorated banners. Spectators line the street. The Waugh Building is nearby.

A Lakeside Amusement Park billboard tops a Chinese restaurant at 1700 Broadway Street, in Denver, Colorado. The sign reads: "Yes Sir It's Lakeside Again, The Greatest Amusement Park In The West," and "Now Playing Vincent Lopez," and "General Outdoor Adv. Co." Neon signs read: "Chop Suey Pagoda Inn."

Miners, some possibly Native American or Asian, pose outdoors in Ouray County, Colorado. Some men hold lunch boxes.

View of a clapboard business / residence in Silver Cliff, Custer County, Colorado; includes picket fence and sign: "Sing Kee Laundry," owned by Chinese immigrant Lew Sing Kee from 1885 till his death in 1927.

View of the Isis Theater at 1722 Curtis Street in downtown Denver, Colorado. The three-story building has an ornate facade and marquee. Signs on buildings read: "Dr. Murphy's Root Beer," "The West Cigar," "Vitagraph," and "The Nanking Chinese Chop [Suey]."

Street scene in front of Georgetown, Colorado saloon. Chan Gow, a Chinese man, sits in a two wheel cart being drawn by a burro.

A crowd in Canon City, Colorado, gathers for the laying of the cornerstone of the Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge, at the southeast corner of 5th (Fifth) and Main. People carry umbrellas and cornets, and wear uniforms, sack suits and hats. Horses and buggies are in the foreground, and frame buildings in the background include the Chinese laundry, with its projecting sign reading: Laundry.

Facade of the Sam Wah Chinese Laundry, Colorado Avenue, Colorado City, (capitol of Colorado Territory in 1861) El Paso County, Colorado; shows a clapboard false front. Signs read: "Dixie Queen," "Old Virgin," and "Sam Wah L-aundry."

Men haul snow from the downtown area, in horse drawn wagons, along Sixteenth Street towards Broadway Avenue to dump in Civic Center, Denver, Colorado. Business signs include: "The [Y]ee Foo Lun, C.H.D. Chinese Herb Institute, Have Cured Thousands, Why Not You?" "Elite Photo Studio," "Photo Supplies," "Haines Hair Store," "Kodak Supplies," and "Capitol Cap Factory."

Patrons and employees stand outside Fred Barlow's Grand Springs Hotel, a one-story log cabin with a sod roof in the town of Glenwood Springs (formerly known as Defiance), Colorado, in Garfield County. Participants in the wedding celebration are thought to be (l.to r.): Dolly Barlow (bride), Ella Barlow, Mrs. E.M. Landis, Fred Barlow, John Blake, Chang (Chinese cook), William Landis (groom), M. V. Blood, and Perry Malaby.

Coung Kong and Tony Vo practice drumming before Chinese New Year celebration 1992

Dzou Ying Pu and Steve Niemczura practice synchronized martial arts for Chinese New Year celebration. 1992 WH2129PhBx388

Sharon Chan at Bear Creek Elementary learns Chinese calligraphy from West High students.

Esther and Frank Fong, owners of the Lotus Room, celebrate Chinese New Year with Mayor and Mrs. McNichols. 1970

Kitchen at Lotus Room prepares for Chinese New Year. 1961

Lotus Room hostess Ruth Jung celebrates Chinese New Year with traditional offering of oranges and gold coins. 1961

Nai-Li, Helen Chen, and Monica Shen are teachers at the Chinese School and members of the Colorado Chinese Club.

Mark Chang of Yen King restaurant teaches students to make noodles for Chinese Festival Day. 1985

Molly Ng of Molly's Oriental Shop poses with Chinese cookery. 1980

Molly Ng teaches preparation of popped rice. 1977

Sheng-Piao Kiang demonstrates a script he will teach in Learning for Living Course on Chinese calligraphy. 1977

Michael Murry, center, leads a group through an exhibition of Chinese GongFu on Sunday afternoon at George Washington High School in Denver. The group from the Denver Chinese School was taking part in the Colorado Asian Pacific Spring Festival Chinese New Year Celebration. The festival also included children's games and food - all in honor of lunar year 4074. 6A

Kids at Global Leadership will begin taking chinese at fifth grade. Chinese teacher Norman Kao (pronounced "cow") sets up his classroom Thursday Aug. 9, 2007 by writhing Chinese characters on paper to later be posted around the classroom. AHMAD TERRY

The Dalai Lama held a special audience with local Chinese and Mongols Saturday morning at the Newman Center on the DU campus.

The two diamond-shaped banners hanging upside down on Diana Lee's front gate in Denver mean "come in" or "welcome" in Chinese. Other banners decorating the gate also are designed to bring good fortune in the new year.

Kevin Lee, bowing, and his wife, Tze Hong, pray at the Buddhist Association of Colorado in Lakewood during a special ceremony for the Chinese New Year, which begins Wednesday. Tze Hong is holding her 2-year-old daughter, Alexis Lee.

Joshua Zhong, left, and Lily Nie laugh during an interview in their Centennial home on Monday, July 17, 2006. The couple founded Chinese Children Adoption International, which has helped find homes in the United States for nearly 7,000 Chinese children.

Chinese-born soprano Shu Ying Li, left, joins Martha Liao at the fundraiser. Li wowed the crowd with a medley of Chinese and American songs, while Liao represented her husband, Hao Jiang Tian, who was preparing for his role in Aida with the Metropolitan Opera.

(DENVER , Colo., December 6, 2004) A chinese dragon kicked off the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Convention Center Expansion Center, The new Denver Convention Center Expansion opened for business today as Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper cut the ribbon.

Mary Nguyen, owner of Parallel 17, prepares Asian wraps for the new year.

(Denver, CO., February 9, 2005) Bearing the cold a very nervous Tayuan Lee, 37, of Denver practices the dance he was to perform inside the Denver Buddhist Cultural Society, Tuesday night Wednesday early morning Chinese New Year celebration in Denver.

Hundreds of people watch members of Boulder's Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu Association perform the traditional lion dance ritual Sunday at the Far East Center on Federal Boulevard in Denver. The dance is believed to ward off evil spirits and bring luck and prosperity for the coming year.

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