Residents recall Salinas Chinatown’s thriving past
Salinas’ Chinatown isn’t what it used to be. For Wellington Lee’s grandfather, it was kind of magical.
“He had a thing for paradise. I call that end of Soledad Street the paradise area because he had Paradise Cocktail Lounge, Paradise Hotel, Paradise Pool Hall,” Lee said.
Lee Yin, nickenamed “Shorty,” because he stood less than 5 feet tall, came from southern China at age 10 to join his father, a merchant in San Francisco.
The Lee family moved down to Salinas in 1908.
“It was a merchant experience. See, Salinas, the original Chinese that came, most of them were laborers,” Lee said.
From clearing marshes, swamps in the 1860s to building roads and working on farms, historians said Salinas’s Chinatown played an important role in California’s immigrant history.
Chinatown may have changed over the years, but the work ethic hasn’t, even on the eve of the biggest Chinese holiday.
“We know it’s the Chinese New Year, but we don’t have time to celebrate,” said Diane Wang, owner of China Garden restaurant.
Leo and Diane Wang came to Salinas in the 1980’s and opened their restaurant.
As people in China rush home to spend time with their family, today is like most others for this couple.
“We just, after (we) close, we just go to the (restaurant) and have dinner together and that’s it,” Wang said.
New Year’s decorations are up to greet customers. For some of the newer immigrants, they’ve got the holiday spirit but traditions have to take a backseat.
For Lee, who grew up in America, he’s learned how to balance his multiple heritages.
“It’s just a part of our culture that we always remember that. And we always remember that we are Chinese and this is one of our traditions and somehow, we are able to do that and also do Christmas and Valentine’s Day and all that,” Lee said.
