Inside Vancouver

Vancouver Chinatown Night Market Opens May 18, 2012

by Dana Lynch in Entertainment on May 15, 2012

Vancouver Chinatown Night Market. Photo: Vancouver Chinatown Merchants Association

This Victoria Day weekend marks the summer-season opening weekend for two of the three Greater Vancouver summer night markets: the Richmond Night Market (back for 2012 at 8351 River Rd., near the River Rock Casino) and the Vancouver Chinatown Night Market. (The other Richmond market—the Summer Night Market at 12631 Vulcan Way—opened last weekend, on May 11.)

While the two Richmond night markets duke it out for best “big” summer night market, the Vancouver Chinatown Night Market can pride itself for offering something the other markets can’t: a true, intimate neighbourhood feel, right in the heart of historic Chinatown.

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Vancouver Chinatown Night Market Opens May 18, 2012

Year of the Dragon: Hot & Noisy Affair at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden this Sunday, January 29

by Dana Lynch in Events on January 27, 2012

This Sunday, January 29, is packed with Chinese New Year events. Along with the annual Vancouver Chinese New Year Parade & Cultural Fair, Chinatown’s beloved Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden is hosting a special, by donation event: the Year of the Dragon Temple Fair: A Hot & Noisy Affair.

The Year of the Dragon Temple Fair: A Hot & Noisy Affair is an all-day celebration based on the temple fairs of old. The “Hot & Noisy” appellation is comes from the Chinese word “Re Nao,” often used to describe the “hustle and bustle” of crowds on the street; for this temple fair, it denotes a mixture of traditional cultural activities, ranging from games and live music to a multi-media tea ceremony.

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Year of the Dragon: Hot & Noisy Affair at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden this Sunday, January 29

Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Named Best City Garden in the World by National Geographic Book

by Dana Lynch in Outside on November 30, 2011

Vancouver's Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden

2011 has been a banner year for Vancouver’s Chinatown. Not only was the vibrant neighbourhood declared a national historic site in October, The Vancouver Sun reports that the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden has been”named No. 1 on a list of city gardens around the world in a new book from National Geographic.”

The book, Secret Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Best Hidden Travel Gems, rated Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden above the Rodin Sculpture Garden in Paris, the Foster Botanical Garden in Hawaii, and the Botanic Gardens in Singapore (as well as every other city garden in the world).

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Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Named Best City Garden in the World by National Geographic Book

Vancouver Chinatown Festival This Weekend

by Dana Lynch in Events on August 6, 2011

Streetfest at the Vancouver Chinatown Festival. Photo: Vancouver Chinatown BIA

Vancouver’s Chinatown celebrates its history and heritage this weekend with a two-day free festival in the very heart of that historic neighbourhood.

The annual Vancouver Chinatown Festival brings 50,000 spectators to Chinatown’s Columbia and Keefer Streets, making it one of the summer’s biggest multicultural festivals. This year, the festival includes an open market, historic walking tours, multicultural stage performances, a 125th anniversary photo exhibition at the Chinese Cultural Centre Museum (555 Columbia Street), Youth Talent Showdown 2011, and the fun, festive Streetfest.

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Vancouver Chinatown Festival This Weekend

Vancouver’s Chinatown Night Market Opens May 20, 2011

by Dana Lynch in Entertainment on May 14, 2011

Vancouver Chinatown Night Market. Photo: Vancouver Chinatown Merchants Association

Hot on the heels of the summer-season opening of the colossal Summer Night Market in Richmond comes the opening weekend of Vancouver’s own Asian-style night market: the Chinatown Night Market kicks off its summer season this Friday, May 20.

When it comes to size and scope, Vancouver’s Chinatown Night Market can’t compare to Richmond’s Summer Night Market. But the Chinatown Night Market has a charm and spirit just as big as its sister market, and its urban, neighbourhood setting in the heart of historic Chinatown gives it a street-festival atmosphere that makes it just as worthy of a visit.

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Vancouver’s Chinatown Night Market Opens May 20, 2011

Condé Nast Traveler Gives Vancouver “Gold Medal” for Chinese Food

by Dana Lynch in Food & Drink on January 31, 2010

Shrimp dumplings at Floata Seafood Restaurant in Vancouver's Chinatown

Just in time for the 2010 Olympics, famous taste arbiter Condé Nast Traveler has given Vancouver the “Gold Medal” for the best Chinese food in North America–and maybe the world.

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Condé Nast Traveler Gives Vancouver “Gold Medal” for Chinese Food

Top 5: Vancouver Chinatown Historic Attractions

by Dana Lynch in Town on November 19, 2009

Chinatown Vancouver's Millennium Gate

Whether you go there for fresh fruits or dried seafood, Chinese imports, fabulous Dim Sum, or summer concerts, if you live in Vancouver, Chinatown is part of your life.

Vancouver’s Chinatown is the one of largest in the Western Hemisphere, and, no matter the weather, it’s always packed with people and bustling with energy. It’s one of the most vibrant areas of the city, home to a wide range of shops, restaurants, and historic attractions.

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Top 5: Vancouver Chinatown Historic Attractions