Garden helps celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

It’s the time of year; the “Merry Month of May,” that (usually) means spring is here – but it’s also officially Asian American/ Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

This closer look features the history of the most overlooked and most times, forgotten, past of our Asian and Pacific Islander citizens’ migration, which would eventually lead to Portland’s rich and diverse population. For starters, a centuries-long series of events lead to the building of Pacific Northwest railroads and our city’s structure and its commerce.

One delightful adventure that links to the past is the Lan Su Chinese Garden in the heart of downtown Portland in the Chinatown district. As you enter the garden, one can’t help but have a feeling of strong tradition as well as deep ancestry. It’s like a blast from sixteenth-century China.

Upon entering, you notice a big courtyard, and words such as “breath taking” and “iconic” come to mind. You can see patrons dining alongside a large pond with intricate, old Asian designs epitomizing the continent’s culture and tradition. There’s a courtyard of bonsai trees, Chinese plants, and flowers, as well as a waterfall that flows from a sixteenth-century style rock structure.

A walk on the garden path leads through an old-style Chinese tea house, which would most likely not exist today in modern China. A wooden structure building is constructed from teak wood that was commonly used hundreds of years ago. The Tao Tea House serves a small menu of authentic Chinese appetizers, as well as a wide range of flavored teas, at reasonable

prices. A taste of Asia is right at your disposal. And seating to have lunch or drink a cup of tea on the pond and courtyard is abundant.

Of course, they say “In order to tell a person’s future, you must first look at their past.” And this month, surely such a look out our history is worthy.

Chinese immigrants were coming to America as far back as the mid-to-late 1800s, even as early as the 1700s. They were the first of a long wave of migration of many different ethnic Asians, and were primarily hired to build our railroads as well as provide cheap labor for plantations and farms throughout the continental United States.

Asian immigrants at the time were seen as cheap and expendable labor. A lot of the jobs they accepted most times were very dangerous and/or labor-intensive.

The history of Chinese laborers coming to Portland stems from their expulsion from Seattle and surrounding cities in Washington. Chinese laborers flocked to Portland, where they were largely welcomed and seen as hard-working people. Over the years, Chinese businesses started popping up in and around Portland. Today, people can reminisce and also find descendants of the original Asian immigrants still living in Portland, as well as in other Oregon towns and cities.

The Lan Su Garden is a nonprofit organization that accepts donations. Proceeds go towards daily shows and storytelling from different Asian cultures around the world, as well as cultural events from Pacific Island ethnicities such as Hawaiian, Samoan, Guamanian to name a few). Performances can include the Hawaiian hula song and dance, the Samoan slap dance, and Tahitian dance styles.

As someone who is third-generation Chinese, as well as a native Hawaiian, I could not help but to have a strong feeling of pride as I entered the garden. It was overwhelming, as if I

stepped back and I was there during the time of my ancestors. I thought I heard voices of long-passed people who once walked those same downtown Portland streets. The feeling of a voice, not physically heard, but just a feeling of voices wanting to be heard, was strong.

May is the month to teach our history – “our” meaning all those who reside in Portland presently.

I suggest anyone stop the garden by any day; everyone is welcome.

Lan Su Garden

239 NW Everett St., Portland 503-228-8131

Summer Hours: Open daily 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.

Last visitor entry/ticket booth closes 5:30 p.m.

Admission:

· Free – members

· $14 – adult (age 19-61)

· $13 – senior (age 62 & over) / student (18+ with I.D.)

· $11 – youth (age 6-18)

· Free — child (5 and under)

Adjacent street parking is available at regular downtown Portland rates.