Amplifying the voices of Chinese migrants in the American West, the Chinese Railroad Workers Project is an important archival effort from Stanford University. In the 1860s, thousands of Chinese migrants faced hazardous and exploitive working conditions as they helped create America's first transcontinental railroad. Despite their important contribution to American history, "absent from the historical record is any indication that the employers or the general public welcomed the Chinese to make their homes, raise families, and integrate into local communities." To ensure that their contributions and voices are not erased from the historical record, this project spent five years interviewing their descendants, tracing the generational impact. Family members offered stories and mementos that provide perspective on the "personal insights and feelings of those who count among their descendants Chinese who helped build the Central Pacific Railroad." Other historical documents give additional context to the archive. The resources are divided into three categories: artifacts, payroll records, and oral histories. The Chinese Railroad Workers Project is co-directed by Gordon H. Chang, (professor and Director of Stanford's Center for East Asian Studies) and Shelley Fisher Fishkin (professor and Director of Stanford's Program in American Studies).