The History of China Beach

The origin of the name “China Beach” is obscured by time and prejudice. Oral history is largely all that exists regarding the name’s origin. Curiously, newspaper articles seem to avoid referring by name to the beach “that affords the safest and best bathing in or about San Francisco” until the mid-1920s, when the first reference to “China Beach” shows up in an article about a drowning at the beach.

China Beach’s past is steeped in mystery. The Chow Chong family recalled that they routinely used the cove as an anchorage for returning exhumed remains from the nearby City Cemetery to their home village Kwong Hoy in China between 1868 and the 1890s. Other accounts say the cove was used by Chinese fishermen, who anchored and camped there.

When the beach became a state park in 1934, it was renamed James D. Phelan State Beach. Former San Francisco mayor and U.S. Senator, James Phelan helped finance the new park, but he also advocated for Asian exclusion. As a tribute to the contributions of Chinese American immigrants, the National Park Service changed the name back to China Beach after the beach became a national park site in 1974.

Why is the name shrouded in mystery? How does knowing more about the racism faced by turn-of-the-twentieth century Chinese in California provide clues to the history of China Beach?