Chinatown, One of Vancouver’s oldest and most culturally diverse neighborhoods.

Dec 8

By JENNIFER VAN EVRA, Condé Nast Traveler, Dec 8 2021

Tell me: What’s this place all about?

The Canadian Pacific Railway was one of the largest and most consequential undertakings in the country’s history, and thousands of Chinese laborers were brought to Canada to perform the grueling work of building a transcontinental railroad. When it was finally completed in Vancouver in 1885, many workers settled in a rough-and-tumble area at the edge of the city—one that would become known as Chinatown. The newcomers experienced relentless racism, economic hardship and inequality—including the prohibitive Chinese Head Tax, which all but barred Chinese immigrants from coming to Canada. But despite the oppression they endured, they had an enormous impact on every facet of Vancouver life—one that remains tightly woven into the fabric of the region to this day… Read More