In 1868, the United States and China signed the Burlingame Treaty, which encourage the flow of Chinese immigrants. With tremendous economic incentives to American merchants and shippers who employed the Chinese immigrants,the Chinese were given the right to immigrate freely to the United States. In the following years , Chinese immigrants took occupations as cooks, laundrymen,gardeners and vegetable growers,jobs considered women's and minority work. others joined the flourishing fishing camps up and down the coast including some in San Pedro and on Catalina Island. For many years, catching abalone and preparing dried fish proved to be distinct and profitable Chinese enterprises
BY Sharad Chandra Shukla
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