St.
Heritage neon sign in the Downtown Eastside
6 CHINATOWN: TECHNICOLOR HISTORY STROLL
BOUNDARIES: Taylor St., W./E. Pender St., Gore Ave., Keefer St.
DISTANCE: ½ mile/¾ kilometre
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PARKING: There’s a parking lot at W. Pender’s International Village shopping mall near the Chinatown Millennium Gate. There’s also metered street parking along W./E. Pender.
PUBLIC TRANSIT: Buses 19 and 22 run along Pender St., 8, 10, 16, and 20 roll along adjoining W./E. Hastings St. SkyTrain Stadium station is also nearby
One of North America’s largest Chinatowns is also one of Vancouver’s oldest and most storied neighborhoods. While latter-day Asian immigrants are now more likely to call Richmond home, this is where the earliest Chinese settled in the 1880s. Most came for jobs in BC’s sawmills, canneries and railway construction. Soon a colorful and clamorous enclave of shops, businesses, theatres and rooming houses sprang up where the predominantly male populace lived—due to a controversial head tax on Chinese immigrants, few could afford to bring their families along. With such a high concentration of single men, Chinatown soon gained a reputation for brothels and opium dens. Many Vancouverites disapproved, though some secretly continued to patronize the illicit attractions. Not all attacks were verbal: a concerted effort by groups organized to drive them out sometimes erupted into violence. Strolling Chinatown today, you’ll find plenty of reminders that this is arguably Vancouver’s most intact heritage neighborhood—plus a full menu of bustling stores and eateries.
| • | You’ll start on W. Pender St., near the intersection with Taylor St. The Chinatown Millennium Gate looming over you here was inaugurated by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in 2002. It stands on a site first occupied by a flag-covered wooden gate built to mark the 1912 Vancouver visit of Canada’s Governor General, the Duke of Connaught. The new gate contrasts bare concrete pillars with an elaborately painted upper section topped with a traditional flare roof. The characters inscribed on its eastern side implore visitors to “Remember the past and look forward to the future.” Check out the stylized lions flanking the site: each gaping mouth used to contain a polished marble ball. They mysteriously disappeared soon after the gate’s inauguration. |
| • | Walk east under the gate and you’ll immediately notice red-painted street lamps (some topped with ferocious golden dragons), rows of pagoda-topped old buildings and street signs adorned with Chinese characters. On your immediate right is Shanghai Alley. While it seems like a quiet backstreet today, this was once a clamorous Chinatown enclave, home to hundreds of single men domiciled in cheap lodgings. The self-contained thoroughfare had its own shops and restaurants and its vibrant nightlife was centered on a large 500-seat auditorium called the Sing Kew Theatre. |
| • | After peering down Shanghai Alley, continue east on W. Pender. On your right, you’ll come to the Sam Kee Building, one of Chinatown’s most famous structures. Gaze into the windows here and you’ll see framed newspaper clippings showing that this slender construction has been recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s narrowest building. At only 6 feet/2 metres wide, it’s hard to argue the point. It was built in 1912 when a public road-widening project expropriated all but a slender strip of a lot owned by merchant Chang Toy (aka Sam Kee). Rather than let it go to waste, the stubborn businessman built this narrow structure. The green glass rectangles studding the sidewalk are remnants of a public steam bath built below the street. |
| • | Just past the Sam Kee Building, turn right along Carrall St. Half a block down on your left, you’ll come to the entrance of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. A team of 52 artisans was flown in to build this stunning landscaped enclave in 1986, creating an exact Ming-style formal garden. Named after the first president of the Republic of China, it’s a tranquil labyrinth of traditional pavilions, mini-courtyards, covered walkways, and bridge-traversed ponds alive with koi and bobbing turtles. If you have time, take the guided tour that illuminates the deep meaning behind the garden’s multifarious features. |
| • | Alternatively, if you’re on a budget, stroll east past the entrance. A little farther along the wall you’ll find a circular doorway leading to a free-entry public park built on similar principles. While not nearly as elaborate as the main attraction, this garden has its own pavilion, limestone features, and a lily-pad-strewn pond. |
| • | Once you’ve had your serenity fix, head back into the concrete courtyard fronting both gardens. Check out the imposing, militaristic bust of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen here, then stroll north across the square toward what’s now E. Pender St. Before you get there, peruse the discreet bronze frieze recessed into the scarlet wall tiles on your right. It recognizes the “blood, sweat, tears and toil” of the more than 10,000 Chinese railway workers “and all Chinese pioneers” who came to Canada during an earlier era. |
| • | On E. Pender, you’ll find another Chinatown gate rising above you, parallel with the street’s southern edge. This one looks like the ghostly visage of a traditional bright painted gate and that’s not far from the truth. The elaborate red, gold, and green construction that fronted the China Pavilion at Expo ’86 was donated to the city and moved to Chinatown after the event. Designed as a temporary structure, it soon began to crumble and efforts to secure restoration funding failed. It was demolished in 2001, but in 2005, a replacement was donated by Guangzhou, Vancouver’s Chinese sister city. Constructed with pale marble pillars and topped with carved white panels, it’s an unusual, almost spectral, alternative. |
| • | Stroll east along E. Pender. This stretch of Chinatown includes some of the area’s best-preserved historic buildings, many of which housed the merchants and cultural establishments that once drove the district’s micro-economy. On your right, just past Columbia St., you’ll soon come to the slender green- and red-brick Chinese Benevolent Association building. Opened in 1904, this organization distributed welfare to the area’s destitute and even housed a small hospital for a few years. Echoing classic Southern Chinese architecture of the period, the building’s deeply recessed balconies protect from lashing rainstorms—a handy feature in Vancouver, too. |
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E. Pender gets a little steeper here but continue east along the right side of the street. You’ll notice that new developments are emerging, while many of the old buildings still have busy shops and eateries occupying their lower floors. You’ll soon come to one of the best of these. A perfect pit stop on your walk, the cheap-and-cheerful New Town Bakery has a busy takeout operation at the front. Peruse the racks of unfamiliar treats
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