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Chinatown’s International Village Mall at Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year at International Village

International Village Mall is a Vancouver shopping centre in Chinatown on Pender Street. It becomes especially alive during Chinese New Year.

Visit internationalvillagemall.ca for the mall’s official website.

 

International Village Mall in Chinatown

Located at 88 West Pender Street in the heart of Vancouver’s Chinatown, International Village Mall is a medium-sized shopping centre with about 60 retail stores and other tenants.

Upstairs at the mall there is a Cineplex Theatre as well as a food court with close to a dozen different ethnic food outlets.

TIP: There is free parking underground while you’re shopping. This is also good to know when seeing a movie at the theatre.

 

Chinese Canadian Museum

 


VANCOUVER’S CHINESE CANADIAN MUSEUM

The Chinese Canadian Museum is a fairly new museum, and a great one! It’s located just a few blocks from the International Village Mall. It’s definitely worth checking out!


 

Lunar New Year at International Village

Chinese New Year is a fabulous time to check out International Village Mall in Vancouver’s Chinatown. In 2024 the celebrations begin on Saturday, February 10th, which is New Year’s Day. They continue on Sunday, February 11th, which is the same day as the Chinatown Spring Festival Parade. Activities at the mall run from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm both days.

Around the Lunar New Year thousands of people descend on the International Village Mall. There are special Chinese gift stalls throughout the mall selling everything from Chinese food to souvenirs, electronic gadgets and fashion accessories.

Lunar New Year at International Village Mall is a sight to see and highly recommended. Especially on the day of the Chinese New Year Parade, you’ll feel like you’re in China!

TIP: As always, parking is free in the mall’s underground parkade for up to two hours while shopping at the mall. During the weekend of Lunar New Year, however, take public transit if you can. International Village is close to Rogers Arena which is right by the Stadium-Chinatown SkyTrain Station.

 

Chinese New Year at International Village Mall

Celebrating Chinese New Year at International Village has been for years a very popular thing to do in Vancouver. After two years of not being able to happen due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the mall’s long-awaited Celebration of Chinese New Year returned last year, and it’s back again in 2024.

At the mall this year there is a Be My Valentine Giftware Boutique as well as dragon-themed crafts and souvenirs. There are also Chinese crafts demonstrations and workshops, a God of Fortune to take photos with, and displays of Chinese antiques and art.

The event blasts off with a climax on the Sunday of the New Year’s weekend with the renowned annual cultural extravaganza, the Chinese New Year Parade. That event features over 4,000 participating performers and tens of thousands of spectators.

TIP: If you want to explore the mall with fewer crowds, go on the Saturday or, on the Sunday, during the parade.

 

The Years of the Rabbit & Dragon

In 2024 the Lunar New Year is celebrated on February 10th. That days marks the start of the Year of the Dragon. Last year it was the Year of the Rabbit and, at the mall, there were bunnies on site for people to see and play with. We don’t expect there to be real dragons this year. There will no doubt, however, be lots of dragon decorations, dragon toys and dragon souvenirs.

The rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace and prosperity in Chinese culture. People born in a year of the Rabbit are believed to be vigilant, witty, quick-minded and ingenious. 2023 was predicted to be a year of hope, which was great to hear!

The dragon represents authority and imperial power. People born this year (and in years like 2012, 2000, 1988, 1967, etc.) supposedly tend to be smart, brave, charismatic, confident and lucky. Like dragons, they are also supposed to be powerful.

 

Chinese New Year

 

International Village Mall Video

To give you an idea of what the mall looks like at Lunar New Year, check out the following video. It includes scenes of the Lunar New Year festivities in February of 2018 and 2019.

As you’ll see in the video, the mall is several storeys high and has a large atrium in the middle. The building has a glass roof and there are stores on multiple levels. At New Year the place is packed with people. Live entertainment takes place on the ground floor in the middle of the atrium area some years (but not in 2023, and maybe not in 2024 either). Vendor stalls line all the hallways in other parts of the mall.

 

 

Other Information

For more information about the shopping centre itself, see the International Village Mall website.

To learn about other similar events happening in other parts of the Lower Mainland around the same time, see our article about Lunar New Year in Metro Vancouver. There you will find information about other events, including LunarFest which runs from February 9th until the 29th in 2024.

For a list of other shopping centres, click Vancouver’s Best Shopping Districts, Malls and Markets.

And for a list of other festivals and events taking place throughout the year, check out Vancouver’s Festivals & Events Calendar.