But they all share one thing in common, they are all Old China Hands -- non-Chinese people who have lived and worked many years in China and often retain warm memories of their experiences.

Dozens of Old China Hands will gather at Cal State Northridge next month for the dedication of the university's Old China Hands Archive, which was established to preserve and publicize the heritage of the many people from other countries and cultures who have resided and worked in China from a period that began in the 1840s and ended in 1949 when the communists took over the country.

"Old China Hands are aging," said archivist Robert Gohstand, a CSUN geography professor and an Old China Hand himself. "We must preserve these memories from that era or an important part of history could be forgotten."

In honor of the archive's dedication, Cal State Northridge's Oviatt Library has invited Old China Hands from across the country and the world to take part in a celebration on Oct. 4 and 5 that will feature an exhibit in the library's gallery, a film program, two get-together luncheons, a banquet, scholarly presentations and instruction in archival preservation.

The formal dedication of the archive will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 4. Mario Machado, an Emmy award-winning broadcaster, community activist and an Old China Hand, will give the keynote address at a special banquet for the participants at 8 p.m. on Oct. 5.

Throughout the two days, CSUN history professor Richard Horowitz and his students will be recording the oral histories of the Old China Hands to ensure their memories of their times in China are preserved.

Gohstand said many of the Old China Hands were Jews from a variety of cultures who sought refuge in almost the only sanctuary available to them before and during the World War II years -- Shanghai, China. As these refugees were driven from their homes in communist Russia or Nazi-occupied Europe, one nation after another, including England and the United States, closed their borders to them.

"They literally had nowhere else to go," said Gohstand, whose parents had fled their home in Russia after pogroms against the Jews began in the early 1900s.

Once in Shanghai, the refugees established their own neighborhoods and schools, and built active economic and social connections, said Gohstand, who is a relatively rare Old China Hand who was born in Shanghai.

Gohstand said the archive collects published works on the interaction between China and other nations and cultures, particularly by and about Old China Hands; memoirs of Old China Hands; oral histories and their transcripts; official documents such as passports, travel papers and property records; personal letters and telegrams; diaries and journals; photographs; film and video material; and small artifacts and crafts.