China Camp, one of the earliest, largest, and most productive Chinese fishing villages in California, was in operation by 1870. Chinese immigrants and their descendants introduced the use of commercial netting to catch bay shrimp off Point San Pedro, then dried the shrimp and exported them to Chinese communities throughout the world. One of many Chinese shrimp camps on the bay, this site was home to several thousand Chinese from 1880 to 1905 and represents the last surviving Chinese shrimp fishing village in California. Left unemployed by the completion of the Pacific Railroads and driven from the city by restrictive laws, many joined those already shrimping in the bay. Changes in the fishery and new laws caused a rapid decline in population, until today Frank Quan is the only original resident still living here.