Chinatown (Vancouver)
Encyclopedia
Chinatown in Vancouver
, British Columbia
is Canada
's largest Chinatown
. Centred on Pender Street, it is surrounded by Gastown
and the Downtown Financial and Central Business Districts to the west, the Downtown Eastside
to the north, the remnant of old Japantown to the northeast, and the residential neighbourhood of Strathcona to the east. The approximate street borders of Chinatown's official area as designated by the City of Vancouver are the alley between Pender Street and Hastings
, Georgia
, Gore, and Taylor Streets, although its unofficial boundaries extend well into the rest of the Downtown Eastside. Main
, Pender, and Keefer Streets are the principal areas of commercial activity.
Chinatown remains a popular tourist attraction
, and is one of the largest historic Chinatowns in North America. However, it went into decline as newer members of Vancouver's Cantonese Chinese community dispersed to other areas of the metropolis. It has been more recently overshadowed by the newer Chinese
immigrant business district along No. 3 Road in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond
, which had been an Anglo-Saxon bastion until the 1980s. Many affluent Hong Kong
and Taiwan
ese immigrants have moved there since the late 1980s, coinciding with the increase of Chinese-ethnic retail and restaurants in that area. This new area is designated the "Golden Village
" by the City of Richmond, which met resistance to the proposed renaming of the area to "Chinatown" both from merchants in Vancouver's Chinatown and also from non-Chinese residents and merchants in Richmond itself.
Chinatown was once known for its neon signs but like the rest of the city lost many of the spectacular signs to changing times and a new sign bylaw passed in 1974. The last of these was the Ho Ho sign (which showed a rice bowl and chop sticks) which was removed in 1997. Ongoing efforts at revitalization include efforts by the business community to improve safety by hiring private security; looking at new marketing promotions and introducing residential units into the neighbourhood by restoring and renovating some of the heritage buildings. Current focus is on the restoration and adaptive reuse
of the distinctive Association buildings.
Due to the large ethnic Chinese presence in Vancouver—especially represented by multi-generation Chinese Canadian
s and first-generation immigrants from Hong Kong—the city has been referred to as "Hongcouver" (a term considered derogatory by some Chinese).
(formerly Channel M) had its television studio in Chinatown from 2003 to 2010.
site including International Village, which was built twelve years after Expo (1998) and is located next to Stadium–Chinatown SkyTrain
station. A shopping mall
with a variety of Asian oriented shops, restaurants, and a movie theatre complex, Cinemark
Tinseltown. (The name of the theatres has led to the popular but incorrect assumption that the name of the mall itself is "Tinseltown"). International Village mall was also designed to be downtown's answer to the Asian malls found in the Golden Village
, though it is not as racially exclusive and includes businesses and residents who are non-Chinese.
Besides the shopping mall, International Village also refers to the name given to the area by the mall's developer (a subsidiary of Henderson Land Development
).
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
is Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's largest Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
. Centred on Pender Street, it is surrounded by Gastown
Gastown
Gastown is a national historic site in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the northeast end of Downtown adjacent to the Downtown Eastside. Its historical boundaries were the waterfront , Columbia Street, Hastings Street, and Cambie Street, which were the borders of the 1870 townsite survey, the proper...
and the Downtown Financial and Central Business Districts to the west, the Downtown Eastside
Downtown Eastside
The Downtown Eastside is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is known as "Canada's poorest postal code"....
to the north, the remnant of old Japantown to the northeast, and the residential neighbourhood of Strathcona to the east. The approximate street borders of Chinatown's official area as designated by the City of Vancouver are the alley between Pender Street and Hastings
Hastings Street (Vancouver)
Hastings Street is one of the most important east-west traffic corridors in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and used to be a part of the decommissioned Highway 7A...
, Georgia
Georgia Street
Georgia Street is an east-west street in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Its section in Downtown Vancouver, designated West Georgia Street, serves as one of the primary streets for the financial and central business districts, and is the major transportation corridor...
, Gore, and Taylor Streets, although its unofficial boundaries extend well into the rest of the Downtown Eastside. Main
Main Street (Vancouver)
Main Street is a major north-south thoroughfare bisecting Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It runs from Waterfront Road by Burrard Inlet in the north, to Kent Avenue alongside the north arm of the Fraser River in the south.-Route:...
, Pender, and Keefer Streets are the principal areas of commercial activity.
Chinatown remains a popular tourist attraction
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
, and is one of the largest historic Chinatowns in North America. However, it went into decline as newer members of Vancouver's Cantonese Chinese community dispersed to other areas of the metropolis. It has been more recently overshadowed by the newer Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
immigrant business district along No. 3 Road in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond
Richmond, British Columbia
Richmond is a coastal city, incorporated in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Part of Metro Vancouver, its neighbouring communities are Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the south, while the Strait of Georgia forms its western border...
, which had been an Anglo-Saxon bastion until the 1980s. Many affluent Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese immigrants have moved there since the late 1980s, coinciding with the increase of Chinese-ethnic retail and restaurants in that area. This new area is designated the "Golden Village
Golden Village (Richmond, British Columbia)
Golden Village is a commercial district of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada best known for its high concentration of Asian-themed shopping malls. It is the home to the second-largest Asian community in North America....
" by the City of Richmond, which met resistance to the proposed renaming of the area to "Chinatown" both from merchants in Vancouver's Chinatown and also from non-Chinese residents and merchants in Richmond itself.
Chinatown was once known for its neon signs but like the rest of the city lost many of the spectacular signs to changing times and a new sign bylaw passed in 1974. The last of these was the Ho Ho sign (which showed a rice bowl and chop sticks) which was removed in 1997. Ongoing efforts at revitalization include efforts by the business community to improve safety by hiring private security; looking at new marketing promotions and introducing residential units into the neighbourhood by restoring and renovating some of the heritage buildings. Current focus is on the restoration and adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
of the distinctive Association buildings.
Due to the large ethnic Chinese presence in Vancouver—especially represented by multi-generation Chinese Canadian
Chinese Canadian
Chinese Canadians are Canadians of Chinese descent. They constitute the second-largest visible minority group in Canada, after South Asian Canadians...
s and first-generation immigrants from Hong Kong—the city has been referred to as "Hongcouver" (a term considered derogatory by some Chinese).
Amenities
Chinatown is becoming more prosperous as new investment and old traditional businesses flourish. Today the neighbourhood is complete with many traditional restaurants, banks, open markets and clinics, tea shops, clothing and other shops catering to the local community and tourists alike. The Vancouver office of Sing Tao Daily, one of the city's four Chinese dailies, remains in Chinatown. OMNI British ColumbiaCHNM-TV
CHNM-DT, channel 20 , is a television station based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
(formerly Channel M) had its television studio in Chinatown from 2003 to 2010.
Facts and figures
- The 'China Gate' on Pender Street was donated to the City of Vancouver by the Government of the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
following the Expo 86Expo 86The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo '86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from Friday, May 2 until Monday, October 13, 1986...
world's fair, where it was on display. After being displayed for almost 20 years at its current location, the Gate was re-built and received a major renovated facade employing stone and steel. Funding for this renovation came through some government and private support; the renovated gate had its unveiling during the October 2005 visit of GuangdongGuangdongGuangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
governor Huang HuahuaHuang HuahuaHuang Huahua is currently the Governor of Guangdong, a southern province of China.Huang graduate of mathematics at Sun Yat-sen University....
.
- The Sam Kee BuildingSam Kee BuildingThe Sam Kee Building, located at 8 West Pender Street in Vancouver, British Columbia, is noteworthy for being the shallowest commercial building in the world, according to Guinness Book of Records....
- The Sam Kee Company, run by Chang Toy one of the wealthier merchants in turn-of-the-last-century Chinatown, bought this land as a standard-sized lot in 1903. However, in 1912 the City widened Pender Street, expropriating all but 6 feet off the Pender Street side of the lot. In 1913 the architects Brown and Gillam designed this narrow, steel-framed free-standing building on the left-over 6 feet. The basement, extending under the sidewalk and much wider than the rest of the building, housed public baths; with shops on the ground floor and offices above (such basements in Vancouver were once common and zoned as "areaways"). The 1980s rehabilitation of the building for Jack Chow was designed by Soren Rasmussen Architect and completed in 1986. The building is considered the narrowest commercial building in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. - Lord Strathcona Elementary SchoolLord Strathcona Elementary SchoolLord Strathcona Community Elementary School is the oldest school in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1891 and is in the secondary school catchment area for Britannia Secondary School. It is located in the Strathcona neighbourhood and has a culturally diverse student body...
, the oldest public school in Greater Vancouver, is the only public school serving Vancouver's Chinatown.
- Wing Sang Building is one of the oldest buildings in Chinatown. Built in 1889 by Thomas Ennor Julian, the six story home was home to Yip SangYip SangYip Sang was a prominent Chinese Canadian businessman, whose business and family flourished during the period when Chinese Canadians faced discrimination and restrictions....
's Wing Sang Company (Wing Sang Limited) from 1889 to 1955.
- In addition to Han Chinese from TaiwanRepublic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and Mainland ChinaMainland ChinaMainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
, Chinese Latin Americans have also settled in the Chinatown area. Most of them were from PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and arrived shortly after Juan Velasco AlvaradoJuan Velasco AlvaradoJuan Francisco Velasco Alvarado was a left-leaning Peruvian General who ruled Peru from 1968 to 1975 under the title of "President of the Revolutionary Government."- Early life :...
took over the country in a military coup in 1968. Others have come from BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and NicaraguaNicaraguaNicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.
List of historic buildings in Chinatown
| Name | Location | Builder/Designer | Year | Built by/for | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Kee Building Sam Kee Building The Sam Kee Building, located at 8 West Pender Street in Vancouver, British Columbia, is noteworthy for being the shallowest commercial building in the world, according to Guinness Book of Records.... |
8 West Pender Street | Brown and Gillam | 1913 | Sam Kee Company (三記號) | http://burton.library.ubc.ca/hclmbc/gallery.php?lang=&dir=vancouverchinatown&dirtitle=Vancouver%27s+Chinatown&total=65&recno=24&id=32 |
| Wing Sang Building | 51 East Pender Street | Thomas Ennor Julian | 1889–1901 | Wing Sang Company (永生號) | |
| Chinese Freemasons (中國洪門民治黨) Building | 1 West Pender Street | 1901 | http://burton.library.ubc.ca/hclmbc/gallery.php?lang=&dir=Freemasons&dirtitle=Chinese+Freemasons+%28Vancouver%29&total=44&recno=0&id=0 | ||
| Chinese Benevolent Association (中華會館) of Vancouver | 104–108 E Pender Street | 1901–1910 | Chinese Benevolent Association | http://burton.library.ubc.ca/hclmbc/gallery.php?lang=&dir=vancouverchinatown&dirtitle=Vancouver%27s+Chinatown&total=65&recno=12&id=16 | |
| Lim Sai Hor Association (林西河堂) Building | 525–531 Carrall Street | 1903 | Chinese Empire Reform Association (保救大清光緒皇帝會) | http://burton.library.ubc.ca/hclmbc/gallery.php?lang=&dir=vancouverchinatown&dirtitle=Vancouver%27s+Chinatown&total=65&recno=12&id=23 | |
| Mah Society (馬氏宗親會) of Canada | 137–139 E Pender Street | 1913 | http://burton.library.ubc.ca/hclmbc/gallery.php?lang=&dir=vancouverchinatown&dirtitle=Vancouver%27s+Chinatown&total=65&recno=48&id=57 | ||
| Shon Yee Benevolent Association (崇義會) | 258 E Pender Street | 1914 | |||
| Yue Shan Society (禺山公所) | 33–47 E Pender St. | W.H. Chow | 1898, 1920 | http://burton.library.ubc.ca/hclmbc/gallery.php?lang=&dir=vancouverchinatown&dirtitle=Vancouver%27s+Chinatown&total=65&recno=12&id=20 | |
| Chinese Times (大漢公報) Building | 1 East Pender Street | William Tuff Whiteway William Tuff Whiteway William Tuff Whiteway was a Canadian architect best known for his work in the early 1900s in Vancouver, although he received commissions in various parts of the United States and Canada during his peripatetic career.-Biography:... |
1902 | Wing Sang Company | http://burton.library.ubc.ca/hclmbc/gallery.php?lang=&dir=vancouverchinatown&dirtitle=Vancouver%27s+Chinatown&total=65&recno=12&id=22 |
| Mon Keang School (文疆學校) | 123 East Pender Street | J.A. Radford and G.L. Southall | 1921 | Mon Keang School | http://burton.library.ubc.ca/hclmbc/gallery.php?lang=&dir=vancouverchinatown&dirtitle=Vancouver%27s+Chinatown&total=65&recno=12&id=13 |
| Lee Building | 129–131 East Pender Street | Henriquez and Todd | 1907 | Lee's Association (李氏公所) | http://burton.library.ubc.ca/hclmbc/gallery.php?lang=&dir=vancouverchinatown&dirtitle=Vancouver%27s+Chinatown&total=65&recno=0&id=6 |
| Carnegie Community Centre Carnegie Community Centre Carnegie Community Centre is located at 401 Main Street at the corner of Hastings Street, in the old Carnegie Public Library building in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia.... |
401 Main Street | G.W. Grant | 1902–1903 | Vancouver Public Library Vancouver Public Library The Vancouver Public Library is the third largest public library system in Canada, with more than 2.5 million items in its collections, 22 branches, approximately 375,000 cardholders, and nearly nine million item borrowings annually... ; later as Vancouver Museum Vancouver Museum The Museum of Vancouver is a local museum located in Vanier Park, Vancouver, British Columbia. The MOV is the largest civic museum in Canada. The museum was founded in 1894 and recently went through a major re-visioning process in 2008. It shares facilities with the H. R... and City Archives |
|
| Commercial Buildings | 237–257 East Hastings Street | 1901–1913 | |||
| Hotel East (東方酒店) | 445 Gore Street | S.B. Birds | 1912 | ||
| Kuomintang (中國國民黨) Building | 296 East Pender Street | W.E. Sproat | 1920 | The Kuomintang Kuomintang The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused... (KMT, or Chinese Nationalist League) |
http://burton.library.ubc.ca/hclmbc/gallery.php?lang=&dir=vancouverchinatown&dirtitle=Vancouver%27s+Chinatown&total=65&recno=0&id=5 |
| Chin Wing Chun Society (陳潁川堂) | 160 East Pender Street | R.A. McKenzie | 1925 | http://burton.library.ubc.ca/hclmbc/gallery.php?lang=&dir=vancouverchinatown&dirtitle=Vancouver%27s+Chinatown&total=65&recno=48&id=59 | |
| Ho Ho Restaurant (陶陶酒家) and Sun Ah Hotel (新亞旅館) | 102 East Pender Street | R.T. Perry and White and Cockrill | 1911 |
International Village
In recent years Chinatown has seen growth in new construction as a downtown building boom continued into the Expo Lands, which adjoin Chinatown. New high-rise towers are being constructed around the old Expo 86Expo 86
The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo '86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from Friday, May 2 until Monday, October 13, 1986...
site including International Village, which was built twelve years after Expo (1998) and is located next to Stadium–Chinatown SkyTrain
SkyTrain (Vancouver)
SkyTrain is a light rapid transit system in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SkyTrain has of track and uses fully automated trains on grade-separated tracks, running mostly on elevated guideways, which helps SkyTrain to hold consistently high on-time reliability...
station. A shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
with a variety of Asian oriented shops, restaurants, and a movie theatre complex, Cinemark
Cinemark Theatres
Cinemark Theatres is a chain of movie theatres owned by Cinemark Holdings, Inc. in North and South America and Taiwan. It has its headquarters in Plano, Texas.Cinemark's Missions Statement Reads as follows:...
Tinseltown. (The name of the theatres has led to the popular but incorrect assumption that the name of the mall itself is "Tinseltown"). International Village mall was also designed to be downtown's answer to the Asian malls found in the Golden Village
Golden Village (Richmond, British Columbia)
Golden Village is a commercial district of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada best known for its high concentration of Asian-themed shopping malls. It is the home to the second-largest Asian community in North America....
, though it is not as racially exclusive and includes businesses and residents who are non-Chinese.
Besides the shopping mall, International Village also refers to the name given to the area by the mall's developer (a subsidiary of Henderson Land Development
Henderson Land Development
Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd. is a listed property company and a constituent of the Hang Seng Index. The company's principal activities are property development and investment, project management, construction, hotel operation, department store operation, finance, investment holding and...
).
Further reading
- Anderson, Kay. Vancouver's Chinatown: Racial Discourse in Canada, 1875-1980 (Montreal and Buffalo: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1991).
- Anderson, Kay. Cultural Hegemony and the Race Definition Process in Vancouver's Chinatown: 1880-1980 in Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 1988. Reprinted in 1996, Social Geography: A Reader, ed. Hamnett C., (Arnold, London)
- Anderson, Kay. The idea of Chinatown: the Power of Place and Institutional Practice in the Making of a Racial Category in Annals Association of American Geographers (1987 - vol. 77, no. 4). Reprinted in 1992, A Daunting Modernity: A Reader in Post-Confederation Canada ed. McKay, I (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Ontario).
External links
- Vancouver Chinatown Revitalization Committee website
- http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-69-1433-9246/life_society/chinese_immigration/clip5"For the love of Chinatown," 1968 clip from CBC RadioCBC RadioCBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
] - Chinese Community Policing Centre
- Vincent Miller, "Mobile Chinatowns: The Future of Community in a Global Space of Flows." Article analyzing the differences between Vancouver's Chinatown and the Chinese community in Richmond.
- "Yin and Yang: Chinatown Past and Present," Multimedia site from Knowledge Network based on Paul Yee's book, Saltwater City: An Illustrated History of the Chinese in Vancouver,Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1988.
- Walking Tour: Chinatown