Simplify the following text for a Grade 7 native English-speaking person.
Original: In 1857 , a party of Chinese miners en route to the Central Victorian gold fields struck gold at the Canton Lead which marked the beginning of great growth in Ararat .
Simplified: In April 1857 , a group of 700 Chinese miners on their way to the Clunes , Victoria gold fields in central Victoria , found gold at the current site of Ararat . This was called the Canton Lead .