Chinatown & Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
Chinatown
One of the largest Chinatowns in Canada, with the Millennium Gate, old shops, and a National Historic Site. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is the first complete Suzhou-style garden outside China.
Vancouver's Chinatown grew up in the 1880s as a neighborhood of Chinese workers who built the railway. It is now a National Historic Site of Canada. Its highlights include the Millennium Gate, Pender Street, the Sam Kee Building (said to be the narrowest commercial building in the world), and long-established barbecue shops. The Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden was built in 1986 by craftsmen from Suzhou in the style of Ming dynasty gardens. It has pavilions, latticed windows, Taihu rocks, and ponds. It offers Chinese-language guided tours, and admission costs about CAD 16. The adjoining public area of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park is free. Chinatown borders downtown at its eastern end, so be careful at night.
Opening hours
Gardens 10:00 AM–4:30 PM (extended in summer)
Nearby sights
- Science World
- Gastown
- Vancouver Lookout (Harbour Centre)
- Canada Place & Vancouver Harbour
- Vancouver Art Gallery
- Yaletown
- Robson Street
- Granville Island