Komunitas etnis Tionghoa di Panama mulai terbentuk pada paruh akhir abad ke-19. Kelompok tenaga kerja Tionghoa pertama datang ke negara tersebut pada 30 Maret 1854 memakai kapal Sea Witch[5] untuk bekerja di Jalur Kereta Api Panama dan kemudian terhimpun di Jamaika.[6]
Referensi
^"Panama", International Religious Freedom Report, U.S. Department of State, 2004. "5 percent of the population includes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), with an estimated 15,000 members, Seventh-day Adventists, members of Jehovah's Witnesses, Episcopalians with between 5,000 and 9,000 members, and other Christians. It also includes small but influential Jewish and Muslim communities, each with about 10,000 members; Baha'is, who maintain one of the world's seven Baha'i Houses of Worship; and recent Chinese immigrants practicing Buddhism" (emphasis added).
^Vega Abad, Lina (2003-07-20), "De Salsipuedes al 'barrio chino'", La Prensa, Panamá (dalam bahasa Spanish), diarsipkan dari versi asli tanggal 2007-07-16, diakses tanggal 2007-11-07Pemeliharaan CS1: Bahasa yang tidak diketahui (link)