Boston, April 4, 2025, — Today is Qingming Festival 2025, and many Chinese people in the Greater Boston area are visiting cemeteries to pay respects to their ancestors. Recently, more than ten members of the New England Gee How Oak Tin Association, led by elder Peter Chan and Presidents Jenny Lei and Jimmy Chan, went to Mount Hope Cemetery to honor early Chinese immigrants.
Mr. Peter Chan, one of the founders of the Chinese Historical Society of New England (CHSNE), explained that many of the early Chinese immigrants who came to Boston were buried on Mount Hope in the suburbs. As many had no descendants to perform rituals, their graves soon became neglected. To preserve this history, the CHSNE began restoration efforts shortly after its founding in 1992. By March 2007, after years of hard work from CHSNE and volunteers, the graves of over 1,500 Chinese immigrants had been fully restored.
Members of the Gee How Oak Tin Association offered incense and burned joss paper at Mount Hope Cemetery to commemorate the contributions and hardships of these pioneers in building Boston’s Chinese community, including the injustices and racial discrimination they endured, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act. As they put it: “A wisp of incense comforts the souls of our ancestors who now rest in peace, restoring justice and dignity to them.” The members emphasized that the freedoms and equality enjoyed by Chinese Americans today should not come at the cost of forgetting the sacrifices of those early immigrants.
During the dedication of the Chinese Immigrant Memorial Garden at Mount Hope Cemetery on March 24, 2007—close to Qingming Festival—Mr. Chan Kin Lap composed a poem to honor the moment:
Yearning so long to have this completed
Working together we have succeeded
A memorial for the deceased & a vision far
In mountains & rivers immigrants’ sweat & tears spread & coverFive thousand years descendants of the Yellow Emperor
Crossing the oceans the lives of our children & grandchildren might be better
With bare hands a new destiny was established
Though so often our families broken & dreams dashedBorn the wrong time with our civil rights taken
Persecuted bullied conspired against & shaken
Each generation of Chinese descent must not forget or cower
Every page of history contains sweet & sourFengshui with the five elements complement the design
Finally gone are the dark clouds to open up a blue sky
A new monument a new year a new hope brings
Peace Joy outshines money or material thingsRoots deep leaves abundant love connect
Our source long & endless thousands felt the impact
On Ching Ming we shall bow & follow the ritual
Our ancestors shall regain their justice and respect
The Memorial Garden’s design incorporates the Chinese principles of the Five Elements and Feng Shui, symbolizing traditional values of honoring ancestors and the eternal significance of deep roots and lasting heritage. Mount Hope Cemetery is located at 355 Walk Hill St, Mattapan. It’s open daily from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Contact number: (617) 635-7361.
Professor Peter Kiang’s Lasting Contributions
Professor Peter Kiang of UMass Boston made outstanding contributions to the creation of the Mount Hope Cemetery Chinese Immigrant Memorial Garden. In dedication to the legacy of Asian pioneers in America, Professor Kiang devoted his academic and professional life to serving Asian American communities, advocating for educational equity and social justice.
While leading the largest Asian American Studies program in New England, Professor Kiang received both Distinguished Teaching and Distinguished Service awards from UMass Boston, along with more than a dozen other honors from national and local Asian American organizations. From 2002 to 2008, he served as Chair of the Massachusetts State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. From 2002 to 2010, he was co-president of CHSNE.
In 1992, David Wong, Davis Woo, Caroline Chang, Peter Chan and Ting Fen Yeh co-founded the Chinese Historical Society of New England to restore the grave markers of early Chinese pioneers at Mount Hope. Many Chinese immigrants who passed between the 1930s and 1960s are buried there. Starting in 1993, Professor Kiang led UMass Boston students on field visits to learn about the history and legacy of Chinese Americans at the site. CHSNE partnered with the Parks Department for over a decade, and the Memorial Garden was completed in 2007.
From the beginning, the Asian American Studies program led by Professor Kiang focused on under-resourced and understudied Asian American communities in urban and immigrant neighborhoods. It expanded the perspectives of hundreds of students, educators, researchers, policymakers, organizers, and bilingual service providers. Notably, some current undergraduates in the program are the children of immigrants and refugees who also studied Asian American Studies with Professor Kiang in the 1980s and 1990s.
CHSNE noted that it is rare for a university to sustain such a long-term educational commitment. Co-founder Peter Chan and President Sherry Dong expressed admiration for Professor Kiang’s remarkable achievements in Asian American Studies.
The Chinese Historical Society of New England, a nonprofit founded in 1992, is dedicated to preserving and protecting the history of Chinese immigrants in the region. CHSNE holds various events throughout the year, including lectures, Chinatown tours, film screenings, and an annual meeting. A bilingual English-Chinese journal is published annually before the meeting. This year’s annual event and the presentation of the “Sojourner Award” will be held on May 1 at the renowned Empire Garden Restaurant in Chinatown. More details can be found at the CHSNE website: chsne.org.