A typical railroad camp near Victory in the 1860s. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Fong's great-grandfather worked on the railroad from 1897 to 1898 before he fell ill and returned to China.

"It was hard work. There was no labor protection-you had to work long hours and workers were easily exploited back then," he says.

Fong only learned about the role of Chinese workers in the railroad when he attended an Asian-American studies class in college.

"I was surprised that we had such a long history," he says. "People need to know they sacrificed a lot, including their lives, to build the railroad. It's a significant part of history."

The railroad, which took six years to build, was one of the most remarkable feats of engineering in the 19th century.

Chinese laborers joined the workforce for the western section, the most arduous phase of the construction, because workers from Ireland were reluctant to undertake such hazardous work.