After work on the Pacific Railway ended, another 5,000 Chinese migrant workers went to the United States again as main laborers building up the railway network in California in the next decade.

Many of them tried to mix into the local community. However, the United States passed into law the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, barring them from US citizenship and mainstream society. Chinese contributions to the Pacific Railway also became marginalized for a long time.

Nevertheless, things have changed in recent years.

On the 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike Ceremony in May, Elaine Chao, US secretary of transportation, said: “As the first US secretary of transportation of Chinese ancestry, I have the unique and moving opportunity to fully acknowledge and recognize the contributions and sacrifices of the laborers of Chinese heritage to the construction of the transcontinental railroad.

“We remember…all the laborers who sacrifice greatly to make this great dream a reality, the benefits of which America is still enjoying today,” she said.

The exhibition in Beijing will last until Aug 31.