The Exclusion Act of 1882 insured that Chinatown remain a virtually all male community until the repeal of 1943. In the interim period, Chinese men tried to continue their traditions. One tradition called for a person's bones to be buried in their homeland. Since workers usually did not have family to attend to their burials, Chinese workers would often stipulate in their contracts that their employers pay for their shipment home to be buried. In some cases, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association would cover the cost and in the 1930s, the Benevolent Association of Boston founded a cemetery on Mount Hope for Chinese workers without family in China.

For more information on this topic, visit the Boston Chinatown Heritage Trail.