Chinese Americans were among the city's residents when Oakland became a city in 1852, and would remain its largest racial minority for most of the next century. The completion of the railroad in 1869 brought a new influx of men to Oakland looking for ways to earn a living. Many of these newcomers were Chinese workers. A large and bustling Chinatown emerged in the heart of downtown Oakland, where exclusionary laws passed in the first decades of California statehood required Chinese Americans to live.