Page 211 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Pacific Northwest

W A TERFRONT , GAST OWN , AND CHINA T OWN  209

0 Chinese Cultural archives are significant additions
Centre Museum to Chinatown. On the first floor
and Archives is the To-Yick Wong Gallery, with
exhibits of both established
555 Columbia St. Map 3 C3. Tel (604) and up-and-coming artists.
658-8880.  Stadium, Main St– On the second floor, per-
Science World. @ 3, 19, 22. Open manent exhibits of artifacts and
11am–5:30pm Tue–Sun. Closed Jan 1, photos, such as From Generation
Dec 25 & 26. & (except to gallery). to Generation, portray the history
7 8 ∑ cccvan.com of BC’s Chinese population from
the Gold Rush of 1858 to the
The three-story Chinese present. The Chinese Canadian
Cultural Centre Museum and Military Museum is housed
Archives building, styled after here also, recounting the lives
the architecture of the Ming of Chinese-Canadian veterans
Dynasty (1368–1644), is an of World War II.
impressive sight. At the edge of On the third floor, the S. K. Lee
its curving tiled roof stand a pair Academy hosts seminars and
A classical pavilion at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen of ornamental dragons, protect- symposiums to promote cross-
Classical Chinese Garden ing the building from harm. cultural understanding.
The museum and archives
9 Dr. Sun Yat-Sen opened in 1998 as part of
Classical Chinese the Chinese Cultural Centre
Garden complex (50 East Pender Street).
At the Pender Street entrance,
578 Carrall St. Map 3 B3. Tel (604) the intricate red-and-green
662-3207.  Stadium. @ 19, 22. China Gate, which was originally
Open May–mid-Jun & Sep: 10am– displayed at the Expo ’86
6pm daily; mid-Jun–Aug: 9:30am– China Pavilion in Vancouver, is
7pm daily; Oct–Apr: 10am–4:30pm a distinguishing landmark for The Ming Dynasty-style Chinese Cultural
Tue–Sun. & 7 8 = the complex. The museum and Centre building
∑ vancouverchinesegarden.com
Vancouver’s Chinese Community
Modeled after private gardens
developed in the city of Suzhou Vancouver’s Chinatown, home to over 35,000 people of Chinese
during the Ming Dynasty, this descent, is the largest in North America after San Francisco’s. The
is the first complete Classical success of the community, which sprang up as a shantytown in the
Chinese garden created outside 1880s after 18,000 Chinese immigrated to the city to build the cross-
China. A 52-member team of Canada railway (see p215), did not come easily. Chinatown’s growth
experts from Suzhou spent an was seen as a threat to non-Asian seasonal workers. In 1885, a closed-
entire year constructing the door immigration policy became law. Many Chinese still came, but
garden, building with materials women were largely excluded; the men who stayed often supported
families they would not see for decades. Racial tensions culminated
shipped from China in more in two major riots in Vancouver, in 1887 and 1907. The Chinese
than 950 crates. No nails, screws, Immigration Act of 1923 caused the local Chinese population
or power tools were used in to decline further. But by the 1940s, Vancouver’s Chinatown was
constructing the buildings. drawing tourists, prompting the government, in 1947, to grant
At first, the garden, named Chinese Canadians citizenship and reopen immigration. Encouraged
in honor of the founder of the by this policy shift, Chinese immigrants ventured beyond Chinatown
Republic of China, seems a maze to settle in other areas of the city. Today, a second Chinatown is
of walls within walls. Designed located in Richmond.
to appear larger than it really is,
the garden is sprinkled with
windows and moon gates –
large circular openings in walls –
that allow inviting glimpses of
tiny court yards wrapped around
still smaller courtyards, miniature
pavilions, intricate mosaic
pathways, bridges, and galleries.
Many of the plants and trees
here symbolize human virtues:
willow is a symbol of feminine
grace; the plum and bamboo A Chinatown storefront with a variety of foodstuffs on display
represent masculine strength.

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