Photo Credit: Ian Flock
One of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods, Chinatown is home to important cultural heritage assets and many community organizations with deep historical roots in Vancouver and Canada. Chinese immigrants and their descendants played an integral part in shaping the history of British Columbia beginning in 1788, when the first Chinese migrants arrived in the province. Many early Chinese immigrants came from eight rural districts in Guangdong province in southern China. Speaking various dialects of Cantonese and predominantly male, they organized long-distance networks that stretched across Canada and around the Pacific region. After the City of Vancouver’s incorporation in 1886, the early Chinese community in the city expanded to become the largest in British Columbia.
VHF's Historic Chinatown Map Guide