China Alley

September 23, 2025

A Tribute to the China Alley Moon Festival

The China Alley Preservation Society invites you to this year’s Tribute to the China Alley Moon Festival. The event will take place on October 4, between 12pm and 5pm, at the Carnegie Museum of Kings County. Join us for Lion Dance, Gumyo Taiko, moon cakes, arts and culture!

“The Truer History of the Chan Family” Screening

At 7pm, there is a screening of Eugenie Chan’s film, The Truer History of the Chan Family at the Temple Theater. The film will also be shown on Sunday, October 5 at 2pm.

Both of these events are free of admission. Seating for the film at the Temple Theater is limited and seats are by reservation. Please go to kingsplayers.org to reserve your seat.

June 15, 2025

Chinatown Counter-Archives: Relational Reconstructions

The week of June 1, artists Evelyn Hang Yin and Jeffrey Yoo Warren hosted two special woodworking gatherings—to recreate a unique stool which has been part of Chinese American life in Hanford, California since the 1880s.

In Hanford and LA Chinatown, eighteen people crafted twelve replicas of this iconic design, using only hand tools. These were hot, dusty days, gathered in the shade under an awning. In Hanford, the workshop was at Toti’s Pupusería, with cool drinks and food all day. In LA, participants ate dim sum as they recreated these pieces of living history in fresh, fragrant pine.

Read about Arianne Wing’s experience of the workshop: The weight of a wooden stool.

May 12, 2025

Rising at Film Festivals

Rising is a film that traces the parallel lives of the historic China Alley in Hanford, California, and its generations of caretakers from the Wing family.

The film premiered at the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival on Sunday, May 4. It then traveled to CAAMFest in San Francisco on Saturday, May 10.

December 10, 2024

China AlleY Featured IN Hong Kong Museum of History’s New Exhibition

China Alley is featured in Hong Kong Museum of History’s “Multifaceted Hong Kong” Exhibition Series: Sojourning in Gold Mountain – Hong Kong and the Lives of Overseas Chinese in California.

We want to give our special thanks to Dr. Sonia Ng, without whom the exhibition couldn’t have happened. Pictured above is our Kwan Tai Temple reconstructed by the professional museum team, an example of how the rich history of China Alley is now shown to millions of people around the world.

September 26, 2024

A Tribute to the China Alley Moon Festival

The Carnegie Museum of Kings County, in partnership with the China Alley Preservation Society, will be presenting a tribute to the Moon Festival on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Carnegie Museum. The event is being held in conjunction with the museum's current exhibition celebrating local Asian history and culture. It starts and noon and will run until 5 p.m.

Click here for more information.

September 12, 2024

PART II of “KING’S COUNTY ASIAN EXPERIENCES” EXHIBITION

China Alley Preservation is pleased to announce its participation in Part II of the exhibition “Kings County's Asian Experiences” at the Carnegie Museum of Kings County.

The exhibition, which runs through Dec. 15 at the historic Carnegie Library building, focuses on the experiences and contributions of the area’s Asian communities following World War II. Specific displays highlight the religious practices, cultural traditions, festivals and businesses that have been at the heart of these groups. Special attention is paid to the individuals and families whose talent, hard work and leadership have made a positive difference in Kings County.

The Carnegie Museum of Kings County is located at 109 E. Eighth St. in Hanford. The exhibition will be open to the public Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 per person (ages 12 and up), $2 per child up to age 12 and a maximum of $10 per family.

March 20, 2024

“KING’S COUNTY ASIAN EXPERIENCES” EXHIBITION

China Alley Preservation Society (CAPS) is pleased to announce its participation in the exhibition “Kings County's Asian Experiences” at the Carnegie Museum of Kings County.

Part 1, which begins in March, folds the experiences of early Asian immigrants to California in historical context and describes what they found and how they were treated when they arrived here.

Displays highlight various aspects of their lives from 1875 to 1946 and include scenes depicting the herbal shop of Dr. L.T. Sue, the Taoist Temple in China Alley and the barracks of internment camps where local Japanese were held during World War II. The role of schools, businesses and houses of worship in binding these communities is also explored.

Part 2, which begins in September, will feature displays on festivals, such as the Moon Festival, Hanamaturi and Obon, rebuilding the Japanese community after World War II, efforts including establishment of the VFW Nisei-Liberty Post 5869, preservation of China Alley and restoration of cemeteries, local businesses and influential individuals such as Richard Wing, Bessie Loo and historian Camille Wing.

April 7, 2022

Telling the Full History Fund Grant Recipient

China Alley Preservation Society (CAPS) has received $25,000 from the Telling the Full History Fund—a grant program from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and made possible through the National Endowment for the Humanities’ American Rescue Plan Humanities Grantmaking for Organizations. This funding will support restoration planning and an accompanying documentary.

CAPS is one of 80 organizations that received $25,000 and $50,000 grants to interpret and preserve historic places of importance to underrepresented communities. Telling the Full History grants support the core activities of humanities-based organizations as the organizations recover from the pandemic and use historic places as catalysts for a more just and equitable society. To learn more about this program, visit Forum.SavingPlaces.org/tellingthefullhistoryfund.

November 4, 2021

Trustees Emeritus Award for Historic Site Stewardship

Each year the National Trust for Historic Preservation honors the distinguished individuals, nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and corporations who are doing important work in their communities with the National Preservation Awards at the annual PastForward Conference, November 2-5.

China Alley Preservation Society from Hanford, California was honored with the Trustees Emeritus Award for Historic Site Stewardship for our stewardship of the Taoist Temple Museum during the National Preservation Awards Ceremony on the evening of Thursday, November 4. The Trustees Emeritus Award for Historic Site Stewardship recognizes success and innovation in historic preservation, management, and programming at historic sites. The event is part of PastForward Online 2021. The program can be viewed for free from SavingPlaces.org/conference.

October 20, 2021

The Beginning of A New Chapter

China Alley Preservation Society (CAPS) is thrilled to be working with RLA Conservation of Art & Architecture and Cooke’s Crating and Fine Arts Transportation, who spent a week in China Alley and began to clean, stabilize, and crate our most damaged artifacts. They will all be eventually transported to Los Angeles for further conservation.

Both teams worked tirelessly and became enamored with China Alley. We feel relieved and grateful that our priceless artifacts are in good hands as they start a new chapter on their journey to restoration!

October 11, 2021

California Humanities Relief Grants

China Alley Preservation Society (CAPS) is pleased to announce that it is a recipient of the California Humanities Relief Grants.

The California Humanities Relief and Recovery Grants are awarded to humanities-focused organizations facing challenges due to COVID-19. They provides vital funds to assist the public humanities sector across California during the relief and recovery stages of the pandemic. Funding for these grants is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and the NEH Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) initiative.

July 31, 2021

China alley through the years

China Alley Preservation Society (CAPS) is pleased to announce its exhibition “China Alley Through the Years” at the Carnegie Museum of Kings County.

In this exhibition the viewers will see rare photographs of China Alley in its early years, the people that made it the vibrant Chinatown it once was, as well as its current condition after the devastating fire that heavily damaged our Temple Museum on May 12, 2021. Accompanying these photographs will also be some artifacts from our collection.

The museum is open from Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11am-4pm. It is located at 109 E 8th St, Hanford, CA 93230.