6. Chinese Street Vendor, 1888

This vendor is probably selling vegetables. Chinese gardeners supplied a large proportion of Portland's residents with fresh vegetables. The vendors carried produce through the streets in large baskets like these, and laundry workers used similar baskets for collection and delivery of clothes and linens.

Employment opportunities were limited for Chinese but certain jobs were readily available particularly doing laundry and housework or serving as cooks, gardeners, and vegetable sellers. The majority of Chinese immigrants, however, worked hard labor jobs like clearing land and cutting timber for railroad construction and blasting tunnels also for the construction of railroads. Many of those who were able to save a little money opened small businesses serving both Chinese residents and the larger community and still others developed these businesses into highly profitable ventures, never returning to China but instead remaining in Portland permanently.