Home The City of Vancouver Vancouver’s Historic Chinatown

Vancouver’s Historic Chinatown

Vancouver's Chinatown Parade

Vancouver’s Chinatown is the largest Chinatown in Canada. It’s famous for its restaurants, stores, Sun Yat-Sen Garden and annual Chinese New Year Parade.

The area is located primarily along Pender, Main and Keefer Streets, between Gastown and the Downtown Eastside (which isn’t actually the nicest part of the city).

 


This article contains the following information about Vancouver’s Chinatown:

Festivals and Events | Chinese Canadian Museum | Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden | Chinatown Video | Chinese New Year Video | Tips & Advice | Other Information


 

Chinese Canadian Museum

 

Chinatown in Vancouver

Chinatown isn’t a huge area. It’s large enough, though, to stroll around and see a number of interesting shops and restaurants. Highlights in Chinatown include the Chinese Canadian Museum, Sun Yat-Sen Garden and the Chinese New Year Parade & Celebrations once each year.

In addition to all the little shops, fruit stands and restaurants lining the streets in the area, another interesting place is the International Village at 88 West Pender. International Village is a mall, so nothing too amazing. It has some unique stores, though, and a very definite Asian theme.

International Village is normally fairly quiet. It has a good Asian food court upstairs, a movie theatre, an Asian-style dollar store, and a variety of other interesting shops. The mall used to have far more interesting shops. In the last few years, though, it has emptied out a bit.

When the place really comes alive is during the weekend of Chinese New Year. That’s when there are live performances inside as well as crowds of Chinese and other Vancouverites shopping at the festival stalls and taking in all the sights.

TIP: There is free parking underground at the International Village. It’s complimentary for two hours for the mall’s patrons. It’s a good place to park, although not on parade day at New Year’s as the road is blocked to traffic.

 

Chinatown Festival
Vancouver Chinatown Festival

 

Festivals and Events in Chinatown

There are several great events that take place in Vancouver’s Chinatown each year. One of the best times to visit the area is around Chinese New Year/Lunar New YearDuring New Year’s you’ll really feel like you’re in China with all the millions of people out to watch the Chinese New Year Parade (assuming that rainy weather doesn’t keep them away).

Another exceptional time to visit the area is in the summer during the Vancouver Chinatown Festival. The event takes place in the heart of Chinatown, near the corner of Columbia and Keefer Streets. It usually happens on a Saturday and Sunday around mid-month in August. Around the same time of the year there’s also the Light Up Chinatown Festival which celebrates the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Other popular festivals include the Fire Dragon Festival in Chinatown and various special events at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden each year.

 

Vancouver events at Lunar New Year

Light Up Chinatown at Night
Light Up Chinatown Festival

 

Chinese Canadian Museum

A good place to check out in Chinatown is the country’s first Chinese Canadian Museum. It’s a place where you’ll learn all about the culture and history of Chinese Canadians. There are several display rooms and exhibitions to explore. The venue is usually open on Wednesday to Sunday and the occasional Monday if that day falls on a public holiday.

To learn more about the attraction, see our Chinese Canadian Museum article.

 

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden

If you ever visit Chinatown and you like Asian-style gardens, Sun Yat-Sen Garden is a nice one to visit. It’s not large, but it is beautiful. Best times to visit are in the summer and late spring and early fall.

See Sun Yat-Sen Garden for more information.

 

Chinatown's Millennium Gate
Chinatown’s Millennium Gate

 

Chinatown Video

The following video is of Pender Street. This street goes through the heart of Vancouver’s Chinatown, from the 200 block of East Pender at Gore Street to the Millennium Gate near the 100 block of West Pender.

The video was taken in April, 2020, so at the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which explains why the streets were so empty.

 

 

Chinese New Year Video

Chinatown is usually a fairly quiet part of Vancouver, except at Chinese New Year which happens in January or February each year. On the Sunday of the weekend after Chinese New Year’s Day there is usually a massive parade that attracts as many as 100,000 spectators.

After the parade there are festivities at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden, the Chinatown Plaza, the International Village Mall and in the streets around the neighbourhood.

The following video is of a scene of a lion dance ceremony outside a Chinese business on Pender Street after the parade. The lion blesses the business which in turn gives the lion (and the dancers inside) a money gift that benefits the lion dancing organization.

For more videos of Chinese New Year activities in Vancouver see our articles about the Chinese New Year Parade and Chinese New Year in Metro Vancouver.

 

 

Tips & Advice

Below are some tips and suggestions to help you make the most of your visit to Vancouver’s Chinatown.

TIP #1: You’ll find the cheapest fruit and vegetable store in Metro Vancouver at 770 Gore Avenue, not too far from Chinatown.

Sunrise Market is an interesting place, and everything is amazingly affordable, at least for Vancouver. It’s not the freshest produce mind you, so plan to eat or cook whatever you buy within a few days.

At the opposite end of the scale of the grocery/produce shopping spectrum (but still very Chinese), is the giant TNT supermarket at 179 Keefer Place. If you want to experience Asian supermarket shopping at its finest, then this too is a most interesting place.

TIP #2: Don’t go to Chinatown late at night on your own (especially if you’re a woman), as some parts of East Vancouver aren’t the nicest. Downtown Vancouver has more than its share of drug problems and homelessness. If you’re in a group, though, then don’t let the area’s more colourful reputation stop you.

TIP #3: An exceptional way to explore Chinatown is on a guided tour with Historical Chinatown Tours. They take place year-round and often involve dumplings or other tasty Chinese food!

TIP #4: If you like history and stories about crime, then check out the Vancouver Police Museum. Located at 240 East Cordova Street, it’s just a couple of blocks from Chinatown.

 

Historical Chinatown Tours

Vancouver's Chinatown
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden

 

Other Information

To learn more about the area see the Parks Canada website which provides details about the neighbourhood which is designated as a National Heritage Site.

For information about BC’s other famous Chinatown neighbourhood see the article about Victoria’s Chinatown on the VictoriasBestPlaces.com website.

Other articles that might be of interest include the following: