The Chinese American Museum (Chinese: 華美博物館; abbreviated CAM) is a museum located in Downtown Los Angeles as a part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. It is dedicated to the history and experience of Chinese Americans in the state of California, the first such museum in Southern California. It presents exhibits of fine art by Chinese American artists as well as historical exhibits.

Planning for the museum began in October 1984, with the grand opening taking place on December 18, 2003.

The museum is housed in the Garnier Building, the oldest surviving Chinese building in Southern California. The original Los Angeles Chinatown was located here before it was moved to New Chinatown for the construction of Los Angeles Union Station.

It is funded by the State of California, the City of Los Angeles, Friends of the Chinese American Museum, the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, the Getty Foundation, the El Pueblo Association, the Center for Chinese Medicine, and hundreds of other donors.

A permanent exhibit at the museum is the recreation of the Hing Yuen Hong Chinese Herb Shop of yesteryear. Another permanent exhibit opened on December 13, 2012, is "Origins: The Birth and Rise of Chinese American Communities in Los Angeles", celebrating the growth and development of Cantonese American enclaves from Downtown Los Angeles to the San Gabriel Valley.

Past exhibits have included "Sunshine and Shadow: In Search of Jake Lee", showcasing the 60 watercolor work of prolific artist Jake Lee; "Milton Quon's Los Angeles" (2005-2006); "The Art of Diana Shui-In Wong" (2006); and "Tyrus Wong (Chinese: 黃齊耀): A Retrospective" (2004), who was one of the earliest and most influential Chinese American artists.

• The exhibit on "Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection" was opened on October 23, 2009. It was based on Arthur Dong's Hollywood Chinese documentary that was broadcast on PBS on May 27, 2009. The documentary, a study of more than 90 years of Chinese Americans in films, ranging from the first Chinese American film The Curse of Quon Gwon that was produced in 1916 to Ang Lee's 2005 Brokeback Mountain. It closed on November 7, 2010.
• "Remembering Angel Island", commemorating the centennial anniversary of the opening of the immigration station in California, July 16, 2010 – January 31, 2012.
• Dreams Deferred: Artists Respond to Immigration, December 10, 2010 – December 18, 2011. This exhibition showcased local artists exploring the tensions, repercussions, hopes, and dreams of immigrant communities in the face of new immigration legislation, through a broad spectrum of art including street art, graffiti art, sculptures, painting and multimedia installations. Artists included: Augustine Kofie, Cache, Eriberto Oriol, Ernesto Yerena Montejano, Eyeone, K. Lovich, Jesus Barraza of Dignidad Rebelde, Joel “rage.one” Garci, John Carlos De Luna, LeHumanBeing, Oscar Magallanes, Patrick Martinez, Sand One, Shepard Fairey, Shark Toof, O.G. Slick, Swank, and Tempt.
• Breaking Ground: Chinese American Architects in Los Angeles (1945-1980), January 19, 2012 – June 3, 2012. Part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945-1980, this exhibition showcased the achievements of four pioneering Chinese American architects whose contributions were critical to the development of Los Angeles’ urban and visual landscape between 1945 and 1980. The exhibit focused on the lives and work of Eugene Kinn Choy, Gilbert L. Leong, Helen Liu Fong, and Gin D. Wong, FAIA, four architects who played pivotal roles in the development of Mid-Century Modern and Googie Architecture movements, unique to California's Post-War architectural renaissance.
• LA Heat: Taste Changing Condiments, March 13-July 12, 2014. This art exhibition explored the impact of Sriracha and Tapatio in Los Angeles. The exhibit included a curated selection of artwork from artists of diverse backgrounds passionate and reflective about notions of identity, community, and foodways. Participating artists included: Edith Beaucage, Erik Benjamins, Audrey Chan, Ching Ching Cheng, The Chung!!, Chris Christion, Clayton Brothers, Eye One, Gajin Fujita, Daniel Gonzalez, Pato Hebert, Michael C. Hsiung, Phung Huynh, Tomo Isoyama, Nery Gabriel Lemus, Sandra Low, Trinh Mai, Patrick Martinez, Michael Massenburg, Kwanchai Moriya, Jose Ramirez, Yoshie Sakai, Jose Sarinana, Sand One, Shark Toof, Sket, Slick, Henry Taylor, Werc.

During the Chinese New Year celebration each year, a Lantern Festival is held at the museum, featuring live entertainment, including lion dancers, acrobatics, musical, Chinese knotting, and dance performances. "Long Story Short", a documentary on actress Jodi Long's family, was shown at the 8th Annual festival which was held on February 7, 2009. The 2013 Lantern Festival was held Saturday, March 2, 2013, 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Each year, the museum sponsors the annual Historymakers Awards Banquet, which "honors extraordinary individuals who have made a significant impact or contribution towards the advancement of the Chinese American community and beyond." A 2009 honoree was Lisa Lu (Chinese: 盧燕), Chinese-American actress and documentary producer for excellence in film and entertainment.

CAMLA Historymakers Award Honorees

No.	Date	Visionary	Lifetime Achievement	Arts & Entertainment	Individual	Corporate	Justice & Leadership	Community & Giving	President
1 (1997)	Oct 22, 1997	—	—	—	Charles Woo	—	Hon. March Fong Eu	—	—
					Peter Woo		Hon. Matthew Fong
					J. Paul Getty Trust		Larry Wong
2 (1998)	Oct 6, 1998	—	Dan Louie Jr., Ph.D.	Bessie Loo	Cathay Bank	—	—	Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association	—
					Iris Chang			Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association
3 (1999)	Sep 11, 1999	—	Albert Quon	Michelle Kwan	Charles Sie	—	—	Friends of the Chinatown Library	—
4 (2000)	Nov 17, 2000	—	You Chung Hong	Joan Chen	Gareth Chang	Chinese Historical Society of Southern California	—	Deborah Ching	—
5 (2001)	Dec 9, 2001	—	Billy Lew	Nancy Kwan	—	—	Hon. Ronald S.W. Lew	—	—
				Tyrus Wong
6 (2002)	Nov 9, 2002	—	Gerald Jann	—	Steven Chu	—	Hon. Delbert Wong	Dolores Wong	—
					Bing Liu
					Caroline Hsu
7 (2003)	Sep 21, 2003	—	Munson A. Kwok, Ph.D.	Jackie Chan	Dominic Ng	—	Gilbert Cedillo	Dr. Annie Chin Siu	—
					Peter Paanakker Estate
							Henry C. Lee, Ph.D.
					Lisa See
8 (2004)	Sep 10, 2004	Leroy & Carol Baca	Wilbur Woo	—	—	—	Antonio Villaraigosa	—	—
							Debra W. Yang
9 (2005)	Sep 10, 2005	Joseph and Betty Wong	William Chun-Hoon	Andrew and Peggy Cherng	Kenjohn Wang	—	Lucille Roybal-Allard	—	—
No.	Date	Visionary	Lifetime Achievement	Arts & Entertainment	Individual	Corporate	Justice & Leadership	Community & Giving	President
10 (2006)	Sep 10, 2006	—	Robert and Edith Jung	Tim Dang	—	—	Assy. Judy Chu	Rev. Dr. Hoover Wong	—
				C.Y. Lee
11 (2007)	Sep 9, 2007	Lai Y. Lillian Lee Jang	Southern California Council of Chinese School	—	—	Southern California Edison	John Chiang	—	—
							Stewart Kwoh, Esq.
12 (2008)	Sep 7, 2008	—	—	Arthur Dong	Lisa Ling	Union Bank of California	—	Jim Tsai	—
								Pacific Alliance Medical Center, Inc.
13 (2009)	Sep 20, 2009	Jean Bruce Poole	—	Lisa Lu	—	—	Matthew Lin	Paul Tea	—
14 (2010)	Sep 19, 2010	Kong Chow Benevolent Association	Dr. S.Y. Wong	—	Blake Chow	Avery Dennison	—	Dr. Tim Siu	—
15 (2011)	Sep 22, 2011	Gin D. Wong, FAIA	—	—	Hwei Chih Cheng Sun	Chinese-American Engineers and Scientists Association of Southern California	—	The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles	—
16 (2012)	Sep 27, 2012	Latham & Watkins, LLP	Chinese American Citizens Alliance	—	—	Tom McKernan & The Automobile Club of Southern California	Carol Liu	Carl K. Moy, MD	—
17 (2013)	Sep 12, 2013	Kin Hui	Charles W. Wong	David Henry Hwang	—	—	Michael F. Eng	Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment	—
18 (2014)	Sep 25, 2014	Ming Hsieh	David Fon Lee	—	Kenneth Chin-Ming Lo	Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary	Dr. James Bok Wong and Betty KC Yeow	Board of Directors, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals	—
19 (2015)	Sep 17, 2015	Greg Penske	Jeffrey G. Chan	—	Paula Madison	Enterprise Rent-A-Car	—	Dr. Ina Chan Un Chan, BBS	—
No.	Date	Visionary	Lifetime Achievement	Arts & Entertainment	Individual	Corporate	Justice & Leadership	Community & Giving	President
20 (2016)	Sep 15, 2016	Susanna & Evans Lam	Bill Imada	Fresh Off the Boat	Gang Ding	—	Kent Wong	Esther Woo Jan	—
21 (2017)	Sep 14, 2017	Assy. Ed Chau	Dunson K. Cheng	Milton Quon	—	Nissan North America Inc.	T.G. Wing Chow, M.D.	Leo Chu	—
22 (2018)	Sep 13, 2018	Winston and Joanne Young	Dr. Kang L. Wang	—	—	Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, San Francisco	Los Angeles Chinatown Corporation	Hong Kong Schools Alumni Federation Scholarship Foundation	—
23 (2019)	Sep 19, 2019	Elizabeth Yang	Suellen Cheng	—	—	Morning Light Foundation	Linda Liu Sun	Linda Moy	Doré Hall Wong
24 (2020)	Oct 20, 2020	Judge Dolly Gee	Helen Zia	—	Mei Wah Lau	Los Angeles Times	Hilda Solis	—	Jim Jang
					Asian American Journalists Association–LA Chapter		Renee Tajima-Peña

Notes

• History of the Chinese Americans in Los Angeles
• Museum of Chinese in America
• Chinese-American Museum of Chicago
• Chinese American Museum DC
• Chinese Historical Society of America
• Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
• Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park
• Chinese Culture Center

• official Chinese American Museum website
• Pauline Wong Executive Director by KCET Departures Video interview with Pauline Wong