As the grandson of one of those Chinese immigrants, I'd like to elaborate a bit. My grandfather was born in Toi Shan, the village where the majority of Chinese immigrants originated. The village had a system, they paid your passage, when you returned you repaid with interest. My grandfather arrived wearing one set of clothes and owing for his passage. He arrived in 1873. There was a Panic that year, because the railroads had overbuilt, selling bonds that couldn't be repaid. We don't know exactly, I think that he worked as a houseboy on a ranch. Someone took an interest in him, he learned to speak English and Spanish, ride, shoot, drive a wagon. He then learned to gamble. 25+ years later he had saved enough money to start a restaurant. This allowed him to bring a wife, my grandmother. She was the first Chinese woman in East Texas. My grandfather lived in the USA for 69 years. Never allowed to become a citizen, vote, or testify in court. Thank you California. When he died, both his sons were flying in the Air Corps. The immigrants came here because the money was so much better. They called it "the land of the Golden Mountain." Most intended to retire to Toi Shan as wealthy gentlemen. My grandfather came to Texas to escape prejudice in California. I'm so glad that he didn't retire to the old country.