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Bernice Chan

Chinatowns are often portrayed as gritty underworlds riddled with prostitution, gambling and drug trafficking. Some of this is rooted in truth, but that unfair depiction is largely the result of rampant xenophobia and cultural ignorance, especially in the West.
In a series of articles, the Post explores the historical and social significance of major Chinatowns around the world and the communities that shape them.
In Chinatown Vancouver: An Illustrated History, author and self-taught artist Donna Seto has immortalised a neighbourhood from a bygone era in paint.
The book, published in May, features watercolour paintings of buildings – some over a century old – in the 140-year-old Chinatown in Vancouver, Canada, recalling the area’s once glorious past.
“People really love [the book] because it paints Chinatown in a colourful, happy way. And I think a lot of people who love Chinatown want to see it that way,” says Seto, a Chinese-Canadian political scientist at the University of British Columbia.


She vividly remembers Chinatown in the 1990s, when it was the only place where the local Chinese community could buy Chinese ingredients, as well as fresh seafood and meat.
“My mother and I often wandered through Chinatown’s busy streets, ducking into greengrocers and meat shops or visiting the herbalist,” Seto wrote in her book. “I loved following my mother through the crowds as she weaved in and out of the stores, picking up various goods – bok choy, ginger, garlic, oranges, bananas, vermicelli, egg noodles, fermented shrimp paste.”
Today, despite ongoing efforts to revitalise the neighbourhood, Vancouver’s Chinatown remains a shell of its former self. One problem is its location next to Downtown Eastside (DTES), one of the city’s oldest but poorest neighbourhoods, which has a community of people that grapple with issues like homelessness and drug use.
A newer “Chinatown” has also been established in Richmond, to the south of Vancouver. In the 1990s and early 2000s, this was where many Hong Kong immigrants settled and set up businesses, attracting customers away from the original Chinatown.
A 2017 report by the non-profit Hua Foundation on Vancouver Chinatown’s food security found that, between 2009 and 2016, nearly half of Chinatown’s cultural food assets, such as greengrocers, fishmongers, butchers, cafes and bakeries, closed down.
“Chinatown used to be the sole monopoly [of where to buy Chinese-related food and goods],” says Andy Yan, an associate professor at Canada’s Simon Fraser University.
“It’s been trying to deal with this loss of monopoly for the last 30 years, and the older generation in Chinatown hasn’t been able to adapt to the new environment.”


The situation has been exacerbated by worsening levels of drug use in the DTES, which has led to more people becoming homeless and a proliferation of petty crime, graffiti and random attacks that have spilled into Chinatown.
In a 2022 report, the City of Vancouver acknowledged the challenges of living in Chinatown, particularly for seniors.
“Many of the Chinese seniors living in Chinatown, Strathcona and Downtown Eastside continue to live in poverty, and face discrimination and barriers in their everyday lives,” the report said. “They rely on Chinatown for their daily needs, especially to access culturally appropriate and multilingual services and affordable goods.
“Meanwhile, there are concerns about business closures and vandalism of important cultural assets – all issues exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and rising anti-Asian sentiment and racism.”

Many second- and third-generation Chinese-Canadians living and working in the neighbourhood have banded together to try to revitalise Chinatown.
One of them is Carol Lee, chair of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, whose father – businessman and philanthropist Robert Lee – was born and raised in the area.
“When I first told my father that I wanted to help revitalise Chinatown, he told me that he thought it was impossible. But 15 years later, we have made incredible progress, thanks to the support from people in and out of Chinatown,” Lee says.

However, she warns that if entrepreneurs do not proactively create businesses, improve how storefronts look and create events for the public to come to Chinatown, the area’s history and culture will disappear.
“If it’s gone, it’s gone forever. And to me, this is the physical legacy of what our contribution has been to the community here. So, it’s much easier to tell the story while it’s still here,” she says.
In 2018, as part of the area’s rejuvenation, Lee opened Chinatown BBQ, a restaurant serving roasted meats. Three years later, the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation opened the Chinatown Storytelling Centre, an exhibition space showcasing items and stories from residents in the area, past and present.
In 2024, after raising CA$30 million (US$22.1 million), the foundation opened the doors to Bob & Michael’s Place – a building that offers 231 units of low-income housing in the neighbourhood.

Other entrepreneurs, like William Liu of Kam Wai Dim Sum, are just as passionate about keeping businesses alive in Chinatown. In 2014, he gave up an operatic career in New York to take over his parents’ business, which makes frozen dim sum, dumplings and baos.
The business sells its traditional Cantonese products wholesale as well as retail, enabling Kam Wai to keep prices relatively low for the seniors who live in the neighbourhood.
Then there are hip eateries, like Saan Saan Cafe, opened by three siblings who grew up in Chinatown. They renovated a dilapidated space once inhabited by their family, turning it into a contemporary cafe offering gluten-free baked goods inspired by Hong Kong-style egg tarts and cocktail buns, which can be washed down with Hong Kong-style milk tea.
There are also cultural institutions like the Chinese Canadian Museum, which opened two years ago. Housed in one of the oldest buildings in Chinatown, the museum showcases Chinese-Canadian history and heritage on a national level.
Plenty of non-Chinese businesses have also moved into the area, including two fine-dining restaurants, Barbara and Kissa Tanto, each holding a Michelin star, and Chinese-inspired bars like The Keefer Bar, Laowai and Meo – which were recently ranked at 28, 67, and 92 respectively on the 50 Best Bars list for North America.


Still, crime, homelessness and drug use continue to be pressing issues in Chinatown.
Lee, of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, has actively lobbied the municipal, provincial and federal governments for funds to clean up Chinatown, and they have responded.
In 2023, the government, under former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, earmarked CA$1.8 million for the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation to renovate the neighbourhood by modernising buildings, adding more lighting, updating signs and holding outdoor events. The same year, Ken Sim, Vancouver’s first Chinese-Canadian mayor, made cleaning up Chinatown, including the removal of graffiti, a priority.
In February 2025, the Vancouver Police Department launched a task force to curb crime in areas including Chinatown. However, while the police department recently reported that violent crimes have gone down 26 per cent in Chinatown compared to a year ago, the Downtown Eastside continues to be a threat.
“But the fact that matters is that there’s a certain resilience that, in one way, is the nature of the neighbourhood,” Yan says.
Tracy To, who runs her parents’ appliances business in Chinatown with her brother Ross, says the average customer profile in their shop has changed significantly.
“Sixty per cent of the people who come in speak English, whereas before, we didn’t have to speak any English. Everyone only spoke Cantonese. There’s a lot more non-Chinese shoppers in Chinatown who are our regulars who live in the area or come here often,” she says.

While To believes Seto’s book does a good job of invoking people’s memories of – and connections to – Chinatown, more needs to be done to keep the area alive.
“It’s a small place, but it has so much history that we can’t let go of it. We all need to protect it,” To says.
“I need to teach my son that, in the future, he needs to be protecting Chinatown as well, however it may look. Chinatown still needs to continue on.”


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Chinese culture

How Vancouver’s Chinatown, rich in history but plagued by poverty, fights for survival

Chefs and volunteers at Light Up Chinatown, an outdoor event held in the neighbourhood and organised by the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation. Photo: Light Up Chinatown

Chefs and volunteers attend Light Up Chinatown, a free two-day festival that celebrates the living heritage and diverse history of Vancouver’s Chinatown, organised by the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation. Photo: Light Up Chinatown

The cover of Chinatown Vancouver: An Illustrated History. Photo: Donna Seto/House of Anansi Press

Donna Seto is an author and self-taught artist. Photo: Donna Seto

Andy Yan is an associate professor at Simon Fraser University. Photo: Andy Yan

Chinatown in Vancouver in 1975. Photo: Getty Images

A painting from Chinatown Vancouver: An Illustrated History. Photo: Donna Seto/House of Anansi Press

Carol Lee is the chair of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation. Photo: Carol Lee

A view of Chinatown, featuring the Chinatown Storytelling Centre, an exhibition space showcasing items and stories from residents in the area, past and present. Photo: Chinatown Storytelling Centre

Tracy To and Ross Lam of Forum Home Appliances. Photo: Forum Home Appliances

How Singapore Chinatown went from slum to diverse tourist hub that puts heritage first

People take photos in front of a giant golden rooster lantern in Singapore’s Chinatown in preparation for the upcoming Lunar New Year on January 4, 2017. In recent decades the area has become a tourist hub where boutiques stand beside old tea houses and Buddhist temples Photo: Xinhua

In October 2023, the Tai Thong Cake Shop, a family-owned bakery in Singapore’s Chinatown, closed its doors after 73 years in business. Photo: Koh Kim Tat Dean

Singapore Chinatown’s Food Street in January 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic forced its closure. Photo: Shutterstock

A woman offers a joss stick at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, one of Singapore Chinatown’s most notable places of worship. Photo: AFP

Singapore Chinatown is awash with murals by local artist Yip Yew Chong. Photo: Tamara Hinson

How Sydney’s Chinatown has survived poverty, racism, pandemic and gentrification

The gateway to Chinatown, in Sydney. Chinatown is a reflection of the struggles of the Asian community in Australia since the early 1800s. Photo: Shutterstock

Sydney’s Chinatown is in Haymarket in the southern part of the city’s central business district. Photo: Shutterstock

Paddy’s Markets in Haymarket, Sydney dates back to the 1850s. Photo: Chinatown

Marigold had two locations. The original restaurant (pictured) on Sussex St, Sydney, opened in 1982 and was a popular location for events and weddings. Photo: Lena Lai

George Street in the historic Rocks district of Sydney, Australia. This was the site of Sydney’s earliest Chinatown. Photo: Shutterstock

How the oldest and largest Chinatown in Mexico rose despite terrible xenophobia

A traditional gate marks an entrance to Mexicali’s Chinatown, known as La Chinesca, in the city in Mexico’s Baja California state.

Lanterns line the street outside restaurants in La Chinesca. Photo: Instagram/sl_mr05

A view of La Chinesca in 2023. Photo: AFP

Tourist guide Elvia Chen, granddaughter of a Chinese migrant, shows historical pictures in a museum in La Chinesca. Photo: AFP

A showcase displaying souvenirs is seen next to a curtain made of Chinese food containers at the entrance to a museum in La Chinesca. Photo: AFP

A mural depicting scenes of the history of the Chinese community in Mexico adorns an abandoned building in La Chinesca. Photo: AFP

Buildings display Chinese-style architecture on a street in La Chinesca. Photo: Shutterstock

Lunar New Year celebrations take place in La Chinesca. Photo: Instagram/nic.maynardp

How to play mahjong and how to win at mahjong: basic rules to get a game started, the suits, winning hands – and what to say to claim your victory

Want to win mahjong? Here are the basics of how to win in this traditional Chinese tile-based tabletop game. Photo: Antony Dickson

These mahjong tiles have been stacked into rows two tiles high. Players take a tile in turn from one of these stacks, moving on to the next stack when the first is depleted. Photo: Antony Dickson

An example of “chicken hand”, which is four sets of any category. Photo: Antony Dickson

Examples of “sheung” (top), “pong” (middle) and “kong”. Photo: Antony Dickson

Lifestyle

Chinatowns around the world

London Chinatown’s evolution from Hong Kong Chinese outpost to multicultural melting pot

Wardour Street, Chinatown, London. The area, which dates back to the 1970s, has evolved over time to become the multicultural enclave it is now. Photo: Getty Images

Chinese pedestrians on a street in Liverpool, 1940. A partially inflated barrage balloon can be seen in the background. Photo: Getty Images

David Tang Hon-sing (left), former vice-chairman of the London Chinatown Chinese Association, with a friend on Lisle Street in 1980. Photo: David Tang

A street in Limehouse, East London circa 1930. In the first half of the 20th century, Limehouse was home to London’s largest Chinese community. Photo: Getty Images

A large crowd watches traditional celebrations for Lunar New Year in Liverpool in 1983. Photo: Getty Images

People gather to watch the Year of the Snake celebrations in Chinatown, London, on February 1, 2025. Photo: Getty Images

A Lunar New Year parade in London. Photo: Allan Hong

How Seoul and Incheon’s Chinatowns tell stories of Chinese immigration to Korea

The main entrance gate to Incheon Chinatown, South Korea’s oldest Chinese enclave. Photo: AP

The Chinatown in Seoul’s Daerim neighbourhood is full of shops selling goods from China that are difficult to find elsewhere in South Korea. Photo: Erika Na

The Jjajangmyeon Museum in Incheon Chinatown documents the invention and evolution of jjajangmyeon, a Korean-Chinese cold noodle dish. Photo: Park Chan-kyong

Daerim Chinatown has faced several challenges in recent years, including rising rents. Photo: Erika Na

A shop selling street food in Daerim Chinatown in Seoul. Photo: Erika Na

Although Daerim Chinatown is the South Korea’s most vibrant, it does not have a paifang gate.

The turbulent history of San Francisco’s Chinatown, oldest in North America

Large crowds fill Grant Avenue in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the US state of California for the annual Mid-Autumn Festival. Photo: Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images

The Dragon Gate at the intersection of Bush Street and Grant Avenue marks the main southern entrance to San Francisco’s Chinatown. Photo: Getty Images

A Chinese butcher and grocery store in San Francisco’s Chinatown circa 1885. Photo: Getty Images

A Chinese apothecary in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the mid-1880s. Photo: Getty Images

Much of San Francisco was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and ensuing fires. Photo: Getty Images

Chinese lanterns line a street in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Photo: Getty Images

Pedestrians walk along a crowded Stockton Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Photo: Getty Images

History of Bangkok’s Chinatown from Teochew enclave to red light district and business hub

Food hawker stalls serve customers during Chinese New Year in Bangkok’s Chinatown in Thailand. Photo: Getty Images

A vendor prepares food in Bangkok’s Chinatown. Photo: Shutterstock

Street food vendors serve customers in Bangkok’s Chinatown. Photo: Shutterstock

Yaowarat Road in Bangkok’s Chinatown in 2017. Photo: Shutterstock

Sun (second left) is the second-eldest son in the Assakul family. Photo: Baan Trok Tua Ngork

Baan Trok Tua Ngork is a space in Bangkok’s Chinatown created by Sun’s family that restores and revitalises their family’s shophouse, as well as several other neighbouring shophouses. Photo: Baan Trok Tua Ngork

The interior of Baan Trok Tua Ngork. Photo: Baan Trok Tua Ngork

History of the world’s oldest Chinatown, Binondo in Manila, now a foodie paradise

While Binondo today is known as a foodie’s paradise, it was once better known as a financial hub. Photo: Shutterstock

Binondo in Manila is the world’s oldest Chinatown. We look at its past and how it has shifted from a financial hub to a culinary hot spot. Photo: Shutterstock 

The Minor Basilica and National Shrine of San Lorenzo Ruiz, popularly known as the Binondo Church, is an architectural highlight of Binondo. Photo: Instagram/lanie.puno28

The Filipino-Chinese Friendship Arch. Photo: Shutterstock

The El Hogar Filipino Building. Photo: Instagram/mrdaleasuncion

Pei Pa Koa Latte with Ube Cheese Ensaymada at Apologue Coffee & Pastry in Manila. Photo: Instagram/apologueph

People pose in front of a restaurant on Ongpin Street. Photo: Instagram/flowry_maze

Of New York’s many Chinatowns, 3 stand out. How immigration shaped them over the decades

The Chinatown in Lower Manhattan is New York’s oldest, shaped by immigrants from Hong Kong, and from Guangdong and Fujian provinces in mainland China. Photo: Getty Images

Pell Street in Lower Manhattan Chinatown in 1979. Photo: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A street in Lower Manhattan Chinatown in the early 20th century. The Chinatown is said to date back to the 1850s. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Nom Wah Tea Parlor, on Doyers Street, is one of Lower Manhattan Chinatown’s historic restaurants. Photo: Shutterstock

Mei Lai Wah is another restaurant in Lower Manhattan Chinatown with a long history. Photo: Google Maps

A street in Lower Manhattan Chinatown in 1955. Many Taiwanese immigrants arriving in New York in the 1970s were put off by the neighbourhood’s lack of quality housing options, and instead opted to settle in Flushing. Photo: Circa Images/GHI/Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

How Toronto’s Chinatown is fighting back against development that threatens its existence

People attend a Toronto Chinatown Land Trust mahjong fundraising event at the Wong Association of Ontario. Photo: Maylynn Quan

A drag performer sings at a Queens of Dim Sum brunch at Sky Dragon Chinese Restaurant. Photo: Yi@postyism

Men in Toronto’s original Chinatown read a newspaper in a window in 1945. Photo: City of Toronto Archives

Victory celebrations to mark the end of World War II take place in Toronto’s original Chinatown on August 26, 1945. Photo: City of Toronto Archives

Toronto’s Chinatown in the late 1970s. Photo: City of Toronto Archives

Shoppers and vendors in Toronto’s Chinatown in 1988. Photo: City of Toronto Archives

Toronto’s Chinatown at Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue in 2008. Photo: City of Toronto Archives

Author Christina Wong was born and raised in Toronto. Photo: Daniel Innes

People queue outside a supermarket on Dundas Street West in Toronto Chinatown in 1988. Photo: City of Toronto Archives

What to see and eat in Melbourne’s Chinatown, cultural hub that grew from gold rush roots

A dragon dance troupe perform in Chinatown in Melbourne, Australia during Lunar New Year festivities in 2024. The Chinatown is one of the world’s oldest. Photo: Getty Images

Chinatown in Melbourne, Australia. One of the oldest in the world, it was founded by Chinese prospectors who stayed on after the 1850s gold rush and opened businesses. Photo: Shutterstock 

People in Chinatown, Melbourne, celebrate the 2025 Chinese Lunar New Year. Photo: Instagram/chinatownmelbourne

Yum cha is best enjoyed at Secret Kitchen, known for dim sum favourites, Peking duck pancakes, fried rice in an omelette pouch and piggy-shaped steamed buns. Photo: Secret Kitchen

A A$450 million lifestyle, dining and residential complex being built in Box Hill, Melbourne, has been referred to as “New Chinatown”. Photo: Golden Age Group

Why Japan’s largest Chinatown is unlike any other around the world

Yokohama Chinatown’s transformation from its migrant enclave roots to today’s tourist attraction is one steeped in history and culture. Photo: Getty Images

Children view lanterns in Yokohama Chinatown in 2024. Photo: Xinhua

A lion dance is performed outside a restaurant in Yokohama Chinatown in 2020. Photo: Getty Images

Crowds of people fill Yokohama Chinatown in 2023. Photo: Xinhua

Chen Kentaro is the third-generation chef of Shisen Hanten. Photo: Shinsen Hanten

Pedestrians walk through Yokohama Chinatown in 2020. Photo: AFP

How Boston’s Chinatown overcame constant threats to win its place in history

A paifang gate marks an entrance to Boston Chinatown. Although at one time or another, Chinatowns existed in other cities in the United States’ New England region, today, Boston’s is the only one remaining. Photo: Hei-kiu Au

Roast meats hang in the window of a restaurant in Boston Chinatown. Photo: Hei-kiu Au

Empire Garden is a long-standing Chinese restaurant located in a historic building in Boston Chinatown. Photo: Hei-kiu Au

A street vendor sells Asian produce in Boston Chinatown. Photo: Hei-kiu Au

The Auntie Kay and Uncle Frank Chin Park in Boston’s Chinatown is named after the volunteers who for years served as the park’s unofficial custodians. Photo: Hei-kiu Au

Established in 1960, China Pearl is Boston Chinatown’s oldest restaurant. It serves dim sum the old-school way – from trolleys. Photo: Hei-kiu Au

The face of Michelle Wu, Boston’s first Asian-American mayor, can be seen all over Boston Chinatown. Photo: Hei-kiu Au

Vancouver’s Chinatown faces a number of challenges, but its passionate community aims to revitalise and preserve its 140-year-old legacy


Vancouver’s Chinatown faces a number of challenges, but its passionate community aims to revitalise and preserve its 140-year-old legacy.


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How Vancouver’s Chinatown, rich in history but plagued by poverty, fights for survival

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Vancouver’s Chinatown faces a number of challenges, but its passionate community aims to revitalise and preserve its 140-year-old legacy

Vancouver’s Chinatown faces a number of challenges, but its passionate community aims to revitalise and preserve its 140-year-old legacy