| Chinatown tips and photos posted by real travelers and Victoria locals.
Fisgard Street
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 Entrance to Chinatown by LoriPoriLeave a Comment Directions: Between Government and Wharf Road on Fisgard.
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 Gates of Harmonious Interest -
Busy Day! by Jetgirly, 2 more photos
While you're in the neighbourhood, walk down to Wharf St. and turn left- check out Fran Willis' funky art gallery (quickly, as she just announced that after twenty-five years she will be closing her doors)! Leave a Comment Directions: Between Government St and Wharf St on Fisgard.
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 The gate of Chinatown in
Victoria by Ann75Leave a Comment Directions: Between Government and Wharf Road on Fisgard.
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Victoria's Chinatown, founded in 1858 by Chinese immigrants looking for gold or working for the railroads, is the oldest Chinatown in Canada. Only covering 6 blocks, it's certainly not as big or as active as Vancouver's Chinatown but it's worth a look since it's so centrally located.
If you find yourself in Chinatown, be sure to find Fan Tan Alley, the world's narrowest street which is only about 4 feet and either end and no more than 6 feet in the middle. In the late 1800s Fan Tan Alley was the entrance to all kinds of seedy activities-opium dens, gambling houses, brothels-all replaced by souvenir shops. Scenes from one of Mel Gibson's worst movies, "Bird on a Wire", which costarred a screeching Goldie Hawn, were filmed here. Leave a Comment Directions: Between Government and Wharf Road on Fisgard.
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Victoria's Chinatown was founded in 1858. Although it still covers about 6 blocks, it is estimated that during the Gold Rush, Chinatown accounted for about half of Victoria's entire population and was comprised of over 150 shops, three schools, five temples, two churches and a hospital. Today's Chinatown is much smaller, but it has retained much of its distinct cultural flavour.
At the corner of Government and Fisgard St. stands the "Gate of Harmonious Interest", a gift from the city of Suzhou, China, one of Victoria’s sister cities. If you walk down Fisgard St. towards Wharf St., make sure to keep your eyes open for Fan Tan Alley, the narrowest street in Canada. The old opium dens, gambling houses and brothels of Fan Tan Alley have now become novelty stores and souvenir shops. Also, on Sundays, Government St. turns into a huge marketplace.
If you want to find out more about the history of Victoria's Chinatown, you can go on a guided walking tour. The 90-minute tours start at the "Bright Pearl" sculpture (near the gate, no reservation needed), and cost $12. Tours run year-round on Saturdays at 10:30 am, and on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in July and August. Leave a Comment
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 Chinatown by btexLeave a Comment
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Step through 'The Gate of Harmonious Interest' for an unforgettable walk through Canada's Oldest Chinatown...and North America's Second Oldest Chinatown.
Victoria's Chinatown was the stopover, playground, and temporary home for prospectors and adventurers during the heydey of the 1858 West Coast Gold Rush.
As Victoria expanded during the 1880s and early 1900s the Chinese community also grew. Victoria was an important Pacific seaport, and goods from China arrived to be sent to other parts of North America. Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway brought many Chinese people to British Columbia, who then remained in Victoria after the railway was completed in 1885. Some Chinese people found prosperity as merchants and landlords, and a number of the wooden buildings that made up much of Chinatown were replaced by brick buildings three and four stories high.
Chinatown's "Forbidden City" was a network of alleyways and courtyards hidden behind the street fronts. This section of Chinatown was only open to Chinese people. Among other things, it housed gambling dens that featured elaborate escape routes in case of police raids. Leave a Comment Directions: Between Government and Wharf Road on Fisgard.
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 Fan Tan Alley (view from
Pandora Street entrance) by JetgirlyLeave a Comment Directions: Between Government and Wharf Road on Fisgard.
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 chinatown. by cachaseiro
it's actually the oldest in canada.
i really enjoyed strolling around there, looking at the shops and eating good chinese food. Leave a Comment Directions: Between Government and Wharf Road on Fisgard.
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 Chinatown by mht_in_la
Behind the big gate there are your usual restaurants and grocery stores. Look closer you'll find over-decorated shop signs and phone booths. While I was there several tour buses made a quick photo stop -- something I had never seen in Vancouver's or other Chinatowns.
Besides Chinese, I saw a small group of "out-of-Chinatowners" living here, mostly above the restaurants. They seemed to be the young, hip type -- students, maybe starving artists. What really makes Chinatown hip is the small alleys with fancy little shops. The most famous one is Fan Tan which I'll post in the next tip. Leave a Comment
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