welcome
to unearth, celebrate, and memorialize local Asian American Pacific Islander histories
Upcoming events
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Little Saigon Listening Party
April 30th, 2025 | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Join us to celebrate our collection of 36 Little Saigon oral histories with food & community! A community-led effort for our Museum of Memory project with History Colorado.
what we do
With a cultural curator mindset, Colorado Asian Pacific United (CAPU) engages in community organizing, coalition building, and various advocacy-driven initiatives to uncover and celebrate local AANHPI histories through research, oral story collection, place-making, art, and curriculum development.
As a progressive 501(c)3 non-profit with a social justice commitment, CAPU strives to advance racial diversity, equity, and inclusivity through community collaboration, celebration, and education.
Denver Chinatown Landmarks
Denver Chinatown Landmarks
Funded by Andrew Mellon Foundation and Denver Arts & Venues, CAPU installed a mural and three historic markers strategically across Downtown Denver to honor the history of our forgotten Chinatown.
community projects
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![Graphic of people walking down an alley way, "Where is Denver's Chinatown?", logos from History Colorado, CAPU, and CU Denver's College of Architecture and Planning]()
Where is Denver’s Chinatown? Stories Remembered, Reclaimed, Reimagined
Colorado Asian Pacific United collaborated with History Colorado and CU Denver’s College of Architecture and Planning to bring Where is Denver’s Chinatown? Stories Remembered, Reclaimed, Reimagined to life. This exhibition explores the history and resilience of Denver’s Chinatown, ensuring that this vital part of the city’s past is remembered and honored.
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![Lion dancers and people holding banners with smiles and happy and surprised faces with confetti above them.]()
Storytelling - Little Saigon
Discover the Little Saigon Memory Project, a collaboration with History Colorado that preserves over 36 powerful oral histories and will be made into a documentary capturing the resilience and community spirit of Denver's Southeast Asian community.
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![Visitors looking at the images on red fabric hung from wooden structures resembling drying racks. One person is pointing at the images.]()
Traveling Exhibits
CAPU's traveling exhibition is a comprehensive eight-panel display honoring the rich history and contributions of early Chinese immigrants in Denver. The design, inspired by traditional Chinese laundry drying racks, pays tribute to the laundries that served as vital community hubs of resilience and entrepreneurship.
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![Artist wearing sunglasses painting red paint on a brick wall.]()
Murals & Historical Markers
Funded by Andrew Mellon Foundation and Denver Arts & Venues, Colorado Asian Pacific United installed two murals and three historical markers strategically across Downtown Denver to honor the history of our forgotten Chinatown.
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![Reclaiming Denver's Chinatown Poster]()
"Reclaiming Denver's Chinatown" Documentary
In Reclaiming Denver’s Chinatown, an #IAmDenver documentary from the Denver Office of Storytelling, their descendants recall with pride their ancestors’ contributions and reject the notion that one tragic day in 1880 defined their community.
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![Sign reading "Yansing Gulch Carnage Canyon"]()
Renaming to Yansing Gulch
Thanks to the advocacy of CAPU last year, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names approved the change of the racially offensive name “Chinaman Gulch” in Chafee County to “Yansing Gulch” (Cantonese for “resilience”).
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![Group of people facing a screen that reads "Reclaiming our Past, Building our Future"]()
Upcoming Projects
Community projects and dreams in the works.
Recent Press
9News, May, 27 – Denver's Little Saigon neighborhood brings culture, community for immigrants, families who founded it
Denver7, May 5 – Asian-American and Pacific Islanders’ heritage alive in Colorado
Denver7, April 30 – Efforts to preserve the history of Denver's Little Saigon continue with collection of families' oral histories.
9News, Feb 8 - Denver restaurant hopes to rejuvenate the city's historic Chinatown.
Dining Out, Jan 22 – Where to Celebrate Lunar New Year in Denver - There are so many ways to ring in the Year of the Snake with celebrations across the Denver metro area.
Colorado Expression, Jan 22 – Celebrate The Lunar New Year With Dinner At MAKfam - Join MAKfam at their Lunar New Year dinner fundraiser to help raise awareness about Denver's forgotten Chinatown
Travel and Tour World, Jan 16 – How Denver Airport’s New Exhibit Brings Forgotten Asian American Histories to Life
