Years ago, the Chinese-language newspaper World Journal in New York reported a story from a small town in North Carolina. While planning a road construction project, a section of abandoned railroad had to be removed, revealing several old graves alongside the tracks. The cemetery had long been neglected, and the headstones bore Chinese inscriptions. The county government could not locate any descendants of the deceased, so it decided to oversee the relocation, but was unsure of the proper burial customs. The county mayor sought advice from the owner of a local Chinese restaurant.

The restaurant owner discovered that the headstones bore the inscription “Yue Jiangmen,” indicating the deceased were from Jiangmen, Guangdong. However, the restaurant owner himself was from Northeast China and unfamiliar with Guangdong customs, so he called a 90-year-old elderly lady from Jiangmen living in New York. She recounted many stories about the railroad workers from Jiangmen, who endured extreme hardships similar to those faced by African Americans at the time. Many had died from illness while working in harsh conditions, clearing mountains in wind and snow. The railroad company had recruited over 10,000 workers from Jiangmen. Elders recounted that in some treacherous mountainous areas, the bodies of workers were even buried under railroad ties.

The elderly lady advised that during the relocation, the incense should be burned at an angle facing Jiangmen, allowing the souls to return home.

The restaurant owner conveyed this to the county mayor. After checking the calendar, the proposed date fell on a “highly inauspicious” day, so they selected a later date marked as “suitable for ceremonies and burials.” The county government set the relocation accordingly.

DNA samples from the six workers were collected and recorded to ensure that future inquiries could be verified. The remains were moved to a permanent public cemetery.

Funeral personnel brought traditional long incense sticks used in Chinese rituals. A professional surveyor measured the direction of Jiangmen and marked a long white arrow on the ground with paint. The incense sticks were placed at an angle along the arrow’s direction, and as smoke rose, the six workers’ souls symbolically traveled home, returning to the land and families they had left behind.

Residents honor the railroad workers with a salute

A ceremony was held during the relocation. A local elderly woman said, “On behalf of the community, I thank those Chinese railroad workers.” Several elementary school children beat a tin drum, and over ten residents of various ethnicities formed an honor guard. An elder proclaimed, “We salute the Chinese workers who built the transcontinental railroads and died in the process.” Mountain residents raised rifles and fired ceremonial blanks into the air—bang! bang! bang!—as the ceremony concluded amid gunfire and rising incense smoke.

The sweat and lives of these workers a century ago contributed to the prosperity and development of the American railroad system. The local community remembered their contribution, honoring their legacy and ensuring that the hardships of these Chinese laborers were not forgotten. Their spirits could now rest in peace.