  On behalf of the survey teams I summarize the designs and results of the Las
Campanas Infrared Survey and Gemini Deep Deep Survey, both of which were
initiated to understand the nature of red galaxies and to study the history of
stellar mass assembly. Our results from luminosity function analysis, ISM
absorption line measurements, and spectral synthesis modeling show that
near-infrared selected galaxies at 1<z<2 are not only massive and abundant but
also old and metal enriched, indicating rapid formation of massive systems at
higher redshifts.
