China Exhibits At World Expositions And Smuggled Women, 1893-1895.

As the 19th century came to an end,  many nations participated in three cultural expositions in Chicago (1893), San Francisco (1894), and Atlanta (1895) with exhibits of cultural artifacts and performances of their music and dances. Nations needed temporary immigration certificates for laborers and performers to enter the U.S. This requirement was especially important for Chinese because of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. There was concern that once the Chinese crossed our borders, some would fail to return to China after their certificates expired or that some Chinese women would stay and work as prostitutes who were in high demand because of the great discrepancy in the number of Chinese males and females in the U.S. 

 

Chicago, 1893 World Columbian Exposition

The Wah Mee Company obtained permission with the U.S. government to bring 200 actors over from China to participate in the 1893 World Columbian Exposition to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the expedition of Christopher Columbus in search of Cathay.

In November 1892 a rival group led by Moy Tong Chow (a.k.a. Hip Lung) and Sam Moy, dominant figures of late 19th century Chinatown, formed the Wah Yung Company, with plans to build a second theater and import actors from Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the Immigration Bureau concluded that the certificates of all of their 273 actors had been forged and refused them entry at Tacoma.   

Representatives of the Wah Mee Company also tried to smuggle illegal immigrants at San Francisco in early 1893 with 483 so-called actors who traveled to Chicago by train for fares totaling $32,200.  Combined with very high expenses in other areas, Wah Mee Company declared bankruptcy by July, 1893.

1894 San Francisco Midwinter Exposition

1895 Atlanta Exposition