Gold_Mountain_(toponym)
Gold Mountain (toponym)
Nickname for San Francisco, California and other regions
Gold Mountain (Chinese: 金山; pinyin: Jīnshān; Jyutping: Gam1saan1; Cantonese Yale: Gāmsāan, "Gam Saan" in Cantonese, often rendered in English as Gum Shan or Gumshan) is a commonly used nickname for San Francisco, California, and historically used broadly by Chinese to refer to western regions of North America, including British Columbia, Canada. After gold was found in the Sierra Nevada in 1848, thousands of Chinese from Toisan in Guangdong, began to travel to the West in search of gold and riches during the California Gold Rush.
Chinese people historically referred to California and British Columbia as Gold Mountain, as evidenced by maps and returned Overseas Chinese. However, as a gold rush subsequently occurred in Australia, Bendigo in the then-colony of Victoria was referred to as "New Gold Mountain" (新金山), and California became known as Old Gold Mountain (Chinese: 旧金山; simplified Chinese: 旧金山; traditional Chinese: 舊金山; pinyin: Jiù Jīnshān; Jyutping: Gau6 Gam1saan1; Cantonese Yale: Gauh Gāmsāan); although "Old Gold Mountain" now specifically refers to San Francisco.