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For Art Ping Lee the decision to leave Taishan, Canton, in southern China and immigrate to the United States in 1936 was complex and difficult. In the 1930s, China offered a bleak outlook with few economic opportunities for young men. A recession and subsequent depression, political instability as the Nationalist and Communist parties vied for power, and the armed conflict with the Japanese army who had invaded Manchuria intensified the pressure on the young Mr. Lee to seek a way to support himself and his parents.
For Art Ping Lee the decision to leave Taishan, Canton, in southern China and immigrate to the United States in 1936 was complex and difficult. In the 1930s, China offered a bleak outlook with few economic opportunities for young men. A recession and subsequent depression, political instability as the Nationalist and Communist parties vied for power, and the armed conflict with the Japanese army who had invaded Manchuria intensified the pressure on the young Mr. Lee to seek a way to support himself and his parents.
The journey to the United States was long and risky. One of Mr. Lee’s uncles who was the manager of a ship that went from Canton to Hong Kong was able to facilitate passage for Art on a ship from Hong Kong to Boston by giving him a job checking passenger tickets in Hong Kong. The trip was made more challenging by an unwelcoming entry process resulting from the 1882 law banning Chinese laborers from entering the United States and by strong anti-Asian views held among the American public. In order to be allowed into the United States, Art managed to get a document from the U.S. Department of Labor showing him to be seventeen and the son of a U.S. native-born father. This was known as a "paper son."
The journey to the United States was long and risky. One of Mr. Lee’s uncles who was the manager of a ship that went from Canton to Hong Kong was able to facilitate passage for Art on a ship from Hong Kong to Boston by giving him a job checking passenger tickets in Hong Kong. The trip was made more challenging by an unwelcoming entry process resulting from the 1882 law banning Chinese laborers from entering the United States and by strong anti-Asian views held among the American public. In order to be allowed into the United States, Art managed to get a document from the U.S. Department of Labor showing him to be seventeen and the son of a U.S. native-born father. This was known as a "paper son."
Interior of a Chinese laundry business, 1942 (Library of Congress, photo by Gordon Parks)
Art was fortunate in having relatives in the United States. To reunite with them, his ultimate destination was the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area where he had an uncle in Hyattsville and a grandfather in Georgetown, both of whom owned hand laundry businesses.
Art was fortunate in having relatives in the United States. To reunite with them, his ultimate destination was the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area where he had an uncle in Hyattsville and a grandfather in Georgetown, both of whom owned hand laundry businesses.
While the conflict between China and Japan escalated into the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), resulting in an estimated 20 million casualties, Art worked as a welder on U.S. battleships in Delaware. He also learned the hand laundry business which led him, in 1947, to establish his own successful hand laundry business located on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C. During the war years, Art lost contact with his parents, and it was not until 1945 that he learned his mother had survived the conflict but his father had died.
While the conflict between China and Japan escalated into the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), resulting in an estimated 20 million casualties, Art worked as a welder on U.S. battleships in Delaware. He also learned the hand laundry business which led him, in 1947, to establish his own successful hand laundry business located on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C. During the war years, Art lost contact with his parents, and it was not until 1945 that he learned his mother had survived the conflict but his father had died.
Mr. Lee returned to China in 1947 to marry Sau C Lee. In 1949, the couple and their three-month-old son Wally returned to D.C. and to the laundry business. In 1955, Art bought a larger laundry business (Toy’s Laundry) that washed textiles for smaller D.C. businesses. The new laundry was equipped with washing machines, dryers, presses, folding equipment, and a truck for delivering the cleaned, wrapped, and packaged laundry to his customers. The business employed more than ten men and women, all African American.
Mr. Lee returned to China in 1947 to marry Sau C Lee. In 1949, the couple and their three-month-old son Wally returned to D.C. and to the laundry business. In 1955, Art bought a larger laundry business (Toy’s Laundry) that washed textiles for smaller D.C. businesses. The new laundry was equipped with washing machines, dryers, presses, folding equipment, and a truck for delivering the cleaned, wrapped, and packaged laundry to his customers. The business employed more than ten men and women, all African American.
In 1960, the Lee family, like many second generation and recent arrivals from China, moved to the suburbs. The Lees bought a suburban house with pink siding in Silver Spring. They became one of the 197 foreign-born Chinese families in Montgomery County. Here, like in the city, they enjoyed proximity to family, developed new social networks, held community events and provided each other with financial support.
In 1960, the Lee family, like many second generation and recent arrivals from China, moved to the suburbs. The Lees bought a suburban house with pink siding in Silver Spring. They became one of the 197 foreign-born Chinese families in Montgomery County. Here, like in the city, they enjoyed proximity to family, developed new social networks, held community events and provided each other with financial support.
In 1965, Mr. Lee, now in the restaurant business, became one of the main partners and chairman of the Chinese American Tai Tung restaurant on H St. NW in Washington, D.C. Business was good and, every year, the restaurant handed out bonuses to its employees.
In 1965, Mr. Lee, now in the restaurant business, became one of the main partners and chairman of the Chinese American Tai Tung restaurant on H St. NW in Washington, D.C. Business was good and, every year, the restaurant handed out bonuses to its employees.
In 1972, Mr. Lee opened a new restaurant, the Golden Palace on 7th St. NW (Chinatown) in Washington, D.C. To make it truly authentic, all the chefs were from Hong Kong, the decorations and furnishings came from Taiwan, the hostesses wore traditional Chinese dresses, and the floor captains wore tuxedos. The restaurant catered to Washington’s elite including senators, congressmen, and government officials. The Washington Post awarded the restaurant its top ranking with four stars for food and service.
In 1972, Mr. Lee opened a new restaurant, the Golden Palace on 7th St. NW (Chinatown) in Washington, D.C. To make it truly authentic, all the chefs were from Hong Kong, the decorations and furnishings came from Taiwan, the hostesses wore traditional Chinese dresses, and the floor captains wore tuxedos. The restaurant catered to Washington’s elite including senators, congressmen, and government officials. The Washington Post awarded the restaurant its top ranking with four stars for food and service.
The Lee family in Bethesda, early 1960s
Mr. Lee inside the Golden Dragon, 1974 (Lee Family Collection)
Chinese Youth Club Volleyball team (Lee Family Collection)
Mr. Lee became a community leader. He was a founder of the Chinese Youth Club, established in 1939 in Washington, D.C., for Chinese youth to play basketball and volleyball as well as learning to perform the Chinese lion dance. Notable is that Mr. Lee’s hometown, Taishan, China, is considered the hometown of volleyball in China and where the majority of Chinese immigrants came from up until 1965. Volleyball, like soccer for Latin American immigrants in the U.S. today, became a way for the Chinese American community to relax and bond, an activity particularly important in light of anti-immigrant sentiments. Today many of the religious institutions, community bonds, and family friendships that began with the first generation of Chinese migrants in D.C. endure, even after many families moved to Montgomery County’s suburbs in the 1950s and 1960s.
Mr. Lee became a community leader. He was a founder of the Chinese Youth Club, established in 1939 in Washington, D.C., for Chinese youth to play basketball and volleyball as well as learning to perform the Chinese lion dance. Notable is that Mr. Lee’s hometown, Taishan, China, is considered the hometown of volleyball in China and where the majority of Chinese immigrants came from up until 1965. Volleyball, like soccer for Latin American immigrants in the U.S. today, became a way for the Chinese American community to relax and bond, an activity particularly important in light of anti-immigrant sentiments. Today many of the religious institutions, community bonds, and family friendships that began with the first generation of Chinese migrants in D.C. endure, even after many families moved to Montgomery County’s suburbs in the 1950s and 1960s.
In 2020, at 106 years of age, Mr. Art Ping Lee peacefully passed away in Rockville, Maryland. This patriarch of a family including six children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren achieved many successes in the laundry and restaurant businesses, made notable contributions to the community, and supported fellow immigrants. In a 2018 interview, his advice for future generations was this: “…get involved in your community organizations and appreciate living in a free country.”
In 2020, at 106 years of age, Mr. Art Ping Lee peacefully passed away in Rockville, Maryland. This patriarch of a family including six children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren achieved many successes in the laundry and restaurant businesses, made notable contributions to the community, and supported fellow immigrants. In a 2018 interview, his advice for future generations was this: “…get involved in your community organizations and appreciate living in a free country.”
Mr. Lee inside the New Fortune Restaurant in Gaithersburg, 2018 (Photo by Maria Sprehn)
Learn more about Mr. Lee's life in the interview below, posted by the 1882 Foundation:
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