Ethnicity and Community in the Heritage Process: The Case of America’s Last Rural Chinatown in Locke, California

Locke, California is the last rural Chinatown in America that was formed by the early Chinese immigrants in 1915. Locke’s value as a historic site commemorating Chinese laborers’ contribution to the nation-state has been widely recognized, but its preservation has raised many controversies within and outside the community. The paper shows how the hegemonic discourse of tradition and place could generate contested meanings of heritage and space that solidly grounded on the different ideology and identity discourses. It also provides insights to understand the dynamicity and complex politics of ethnic landscape and heritage.