Chinese Camp, a small settlement in Tuolumne County, is a notable 1850s California Gold Rush mining town. Now mostly a ghost town, it is best known for its Tong wars that pitted hundreds of members of rival clans in 1856. Battles were fought with pitchforks, rakes, and other mining and farm tools.

Despite its name, Chinese camp was equally populated by Americans and European immigrants. Its Asian pioneers planted a thick growth of "Trees of Heaven" that today obscure many of the buildings. Photo by Carol Highsmith.