In Vancouver and suburbs, museums, malls, dining, gardens show Asian immigration, diversity

Explore Vancouver area’s Asian diversity

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — With its colorful ornamental gate, traditional garden and old-Shanghai-style street lamps, a small section of Vancouver lays claim to the title of Chinatown.

However, it’s the nearby suburb of Richmond that acts like it.

Home to one-sixth of Vancouver’s nearly 700,000 Asians, Richmond considered installing Chinese street signs due to the prevalence of Chinese speakers. The city entices visitors with working museums detailing the lives of Asians and others on the coast of British Columbia, a multitude of dining choices, and malls which transport visitors to the other side of the Pacific.

Richmond was founded in 1879 with an already-thriving aboriginal culture added to by British, Japanese and Chinese immigrants.

Recent immigrants have come in waves from Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan. All have left an indelible stamp on the Vancouver region’s culture.

For fascinating shopping or lunch outings, Richmond’s Yaohan Centre and Aberdeen Centre malls are must-sees.

Yaohan Centre is home to a vibrant food fair catering to the many palates of Asia. Near Richmond Centre mall is Kirin Restaurant, which boasts a celebrated Cantonese and seafood menu.

Richmond’s Aberdeen Centre kicks off the Chinese New Year Feb. 14 at 11 a.m. with Chinese dragons and lions and dancers back by Chinese festival drums.

In Vancouver, the Year of the Tiger parade starts to roll through Chinatown at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 14.

For those with a spiritual bent, the International Buddhist Society’s Kuan Yin Temple in Richmond is considered North America’s most magnificent and authentic temple of traditional Chinese architecture.

At 11 p.m. on Chinese New Year’s Eve (Feb. 13), Abbot Guan Cheng, will lead chanting and group prayers. Visitors are welcome.

Chinese architecture can also be explored at Vancouver’s Sun Yat-Sen Traditional Chinese Garden, a Ming Dynasty oasis of serenity in the busy downtown core.

But the Chinese community is just one of many diverse ethnic groups adding to the vibrancy of the Vancouver area.

Japanese contributions to B.C.’s culture are celebrated at the University of British Columbia’s Nitobe Garden. It’s considered one of the most authentic Japanese gardens in North America, and among the top five outside of Japan.

“I am in Japan,” Japanese Emperor Akihito once said as he strolled past Nitobe

For more than a century, Sikhs from India have made their homes in the Vancouver area. The 49th Avenue and Main Street area is known as the Punjabi Market and is alive with stores, markets and restaurants.