Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Centred on Pender Street, Chinatown in Vancouver is among the largest in North America. In fact, it's Canada's largest, which is roughly bordered by Hastings Street to the north, Gore Street to the east, Georgia Street to the south and Taylor Street to the west.
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CAN: Vancouver Chinatown <YOU ARE HERE!>
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The Chinatown area is served by Stadium-Chinatown metro station. My BFF and I, however, walked all the way from Yaletown-Roundhouse metro station to West Pender Street. I know I don't need to say this, but we went to International Village Mall to look for a toilet.
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| Built in 1998, the ageing shopping mall is still loved by many because of its movie theatre. |
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| Head to the second floor for a variety of Asian food! |
It wasn't difficult to tell that we were already in the Chinatown area.
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| What's a totem pole doing up there? |
The ornate Millennium Gate, the landmark most visitors are looking for, was inaugurated in 2002.
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The gate sits on the same site as its previous wooden counterpart built for the 1901 royal tour by
the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, the UK. |
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The lions on either side of the gate originally had polished granite balls in their mouths,
but they disappeared soon after the gate was unveiled and have never been found. |
Sam Kee Building is the shallowest commercial building in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. A guided tour to see the interior costs C$15.00 (~S$15.65) per adult and C$5.00 (~S$5.20) per child aged 4 to 12.
Vancouver's Chinatown has been designated as a National Historic Site since 2011. At the point of writing, the city is still pushing for it to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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| The first wave of Chinese immigrants settled around Carrall Street and Pender Street in 1886. |
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| West Hotel is a historic building constructed between 1910 and 1912. |
There are a couple of gift shops that you can find there.
I really didn't feel like I was in Canada.
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| Founded in Taiwan in 1953, Ten Ren Tea has more than 20 branches in North America. |
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| I really love the aroma of Chinese herbs. Do you? |
Established in 1973, Vancouver's Chinese Cultural Centre is committed to the preservation and introduction of Chinese cultural heritage to the younger generations.
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| Those are the names of Chinese Canadians who served with the Allied forces during World War II. |
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| You can find Tibetan jewelry at the shop. |
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver is the very first Chinese garden built outside of China in 1985.
You can enter the park section without having to pay a single cent.
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| I wonder if there are fish or turtles living in the pond, but I didn't spot any. |
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| Across the pond is the classical Ming dynasty garden section. |
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| Panda's favourite! |
I did one panorama shot at the park.
The classical Ming dynasty garden section that's charges an entrance fee of C$14.00 (~S$14.60) per adult. Cheaper rates are available for seniors and students. We didn't go there as we were quite hungry and went for lunch instead.
Due to the large number of immigrants from Hong Kong, Vancouver has been referred to as 'Hongcouver' by some people. However, in recent year, most immigration has been from Mainland China.
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