What Is the Chinese Historical & Cultural Project (CHCP) at chcp.org?

Updated

chcp.org is the website of the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP), a nonprofit founded in 1987 and based in Santa Clara County, California. Its stated purpose is to promote, educate, and preserve Chinese and Chinese American history and culture through community outreach and its museum, with a focus on sharing these stories with Silicon Valley and beyond. The site is useful if you want to visit the museum, find educational or research resources, attend an event, or get involved as a member, donor, or volunteer.

What the organization does

CHCP describes three core activities:

  • Promote and educate — sharing Chinese and Chinese American history and culture through outreach activities.
  • Preserve — maintaining a museum and related collections and programs.
  • Serve the public — directing its work toward the people of Silicon Valley and beyond.

The site's main navigation reflects these activities: Home, Museum, Education, Virtual Library, Grants, Traveling Exhibit, Chinatown Archaeology, WWII Veterans Project, News, Events, Outreach Events, and About, alongside Support options (Membership, Donate, Volunteer), SDCAP, Employment, and Contact.

Resources and programs listed on the site

Area What it appears to offer
Museum The Chinese American Historical Museum at 635 Phelan Avenue, San Jose, CA 95112, with listed open and closed dates
Education An education section for learning about Chinese and Chinese American history
Virtual Library Online library resources
Grants A grants section
Traveling Exhibit An exhibit that can travel to other venues
Chinatown Archaeology A project page on local Chinatown archaeology
WWII Veterans Project A project focused on Chinese American WWII veterans
SDCAP A named CHCP program with its own orientation session listed in the news

Events and visiting

The site maintains separate calendars for CHCP events and community events, which is helpful for telling the organization's own programming apart from partner events.

Examples of listed CHCP events include:

  • CAH Museum open during Día de Muertos — October 31, 2026, 2:00 PM, at the Chinese American Historical Museum, San Jose.
  • CHCP Outreach at the San José Roots Celebration — November 7, 2026, 12:00 PM, at San Pedro Square Market, San Jose.
  • CHCP Celebrates Veterans Day — November 14, 2026, 12:00 PM, at the Chinese American Historical Museum.
  • CAH Museum closed for Thanksgiving — November 28, 2026.

Community events listed include a film festival, book talks, webinars, a family history storytelling potluck, and a seminar on finding Taiwanese and Chinese roots. If you plan to visit the museum, check the events calendar first: the site lists both open days and closure dates, so hours are not simply "always open."

Getting involved or staying informed

The Support section points to Membership, Donate, and Volunteer pages, and the site also lists an Employment page and a Contact page. A "Join our mailing list" link appears at chcp.org/Subscribe for updates. The site includes login options (Google, Microsoft, Apple) and a password-recovery link, indicating an account area for some users; the available material does not describe what an account unlocks.

Practical notes

  • Location matters. The museum is in San Jose, California, so the site is most immediately useful to people in the Santa Clara Valley area; remote visitors can still use the Virtual Library and watch for online events such as webinars.
  • Verify before traveling. Event dates on the page are listed for 2026, and the museum has explicit closure dates, so confirm the current schedule on the Events page before a visit.
  • Start with the section that matches your goal. Researchers should begin with Virtual Library and Chinatown Archaeology; teachers with Education and Traveling Exhibit; prospective supporters with Membership, Donate, and Volunteer.