Chinese Family Associations: The Gin Family

Chinese Associations are now recognized by Social Historians as important support infrastructures for the Chinese migrants all over the world. Support offered by Associations usually included social welfare, arrangement of employment, translation service, transportation, accommodation, funeral or "bone repatriation service" (bones sent back to the individual's home village) and much more. Rather than to depend on the State, the Associations attempted to look after their own kind. Such Associations included trade (e.g. carpentry, building), commerce, same Province, same county, same village, same surname. Over the centuries, the Gins have travelled far and wide from their home village: all in search of economic gain for the family. Gin members will inevitably join existing Associations (e.g. Trade), but where there was a critical mass, read, a large enough population of Gins, then Gin Family Associations were formed, for the benefits of the current and future generations.

It is our intention to capture the contact points of all known Gin Family Associations around the world. Perhaps beyond the shores of China, the largest population of Gins exist in the "Americas", in our definition, to include the USA and Canada. Latin America to include countries in South America, Mexico and the West Indies.

The "Rest of the World" will include just that, that is, with the exception of China, the Americas and Latin America.

Click through each of the Sub Headings listed top of the page, and explore. Do let us know if you discover addresses and other Gin Associations we missed.

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