Introduction

Mission Statement: To connect past experiences in order to highlight the legacy of Chinatown`s history for future generations.


Vancouver's Chinatown was home to the many Chinese pioneers that settled in Vancouver and worked in industries that built British Columbia- goal mines, coalmines, canneries, and the Canadian Pacific Railway. Chinatown soon became a home away from home for the thousands of men who left their loved ones in China when they came to Vancouver as labourers. For leisure, some Chinese men even created associations so that they could engage in social and leisure activities with people based on a common place of birth or surname. The goal of this project is to connect past experiences with the present, in order to highlight the legacy of Chinatown's history for future generations. Vancouver's Chinatown has, and will hopefully continue to, serve as a rich cultural heritage for all peoples from various cultures and generations, which bridges the crossroad between the unique past and the dynamic future.

Robert H. Lee

Robert Lee was born and raised in Vancouver's Chinatown. His father had immigrated from China and had settled in Vancouver, where he opened his own business. Growing up, Robert Lee worked a lot in his father's shop as a cook, and learned the virtues of hard work. He went to Chinese school and upon graduating high school, he attended the University of British Columbia and graduated from its Sauder School of Business in 1956. Throughout his life, Robert Lee has maintained close ties to the university, and has been highly involved in many aspects of the institution. In 1979, he founded the Prospero International Realty Inc., which has built a strong real estate presence on the west cost of Canada and the United States.

Robert H. Lee is one of the most highly respected businessmen and philanthropists in Canada. Mr. Lee has been extensively involved with the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business. He has served as a member of the UBC Board of Governors from 1984 to 1990, and also as the university's Chancellor from 1993 to 1996. Mr. Lee was also the founding member of the UBC Properties Fund which has generated UBC an estimated 80 million dollars. He is also very involved in community service, and has served as a Director of the Vancouver Foundation and the B.C. Paraplegic Foundation. For Mr. Lee's extraordinary achievements, he has received an Honorary Doctorate of Law from UBC, the Order of British Columbia, and the Order of Canada.

Leslie Joe

The founder of the largest tofu giant in all of Canada was born in China, but raised on the streets of Vancouver’s Chinatown. Leslie Joe moved to Canada at a very young age to apprentice with an uncle who owned a small residence in Chinatown. That residence housed a room that was dedicated entirely to the making of bean curd. Leslie quickly learned the old-world wisdom of the soybean from his uncle’s helper and together they cooked, mashed, cured and sold approximately 200 bean cakes a day to the local residents of Chinatown. Seeing the potential for something more, Leslie relocated the operation to its’ present location on the corner of Powell St. He made his tofu manually in a little kitchen behind his grocery store, named Sunrise Market. As time went on, Leslie’s family grew and so did his business. Tofu production soon became a family business as each of Leslie’s kin would have a part in the process.

Today, the demand for tofu in Vancouver is no longer isolated to the Chinese community. People from every ethnicity have discovered tofu as part of a healthy lifestyle, and consequently, Sunrise tofu can be purchased at all major super market chains throughout Canada. Sunrise Tofu is controlled by Leslie’s son, Peter Joe who is its current CEO, along with the support of his three sisters. In 2000, a new manufacturing plant opened in Toronto to meet the growing demand of the North American market. Sunrise Tofu has now become the largest tofu manufacturer in all of Canada and employs over 200 Canadians.

Maggie Ip

Maggie Ip was born in Shanghai, but moved to Canada in order to earn her Master's Degree in education from the University of Ottawa. During the late 1960’s, she moved to Vancouver with her family and husband, Kelly Ip. As a full time mother, Maggie Ip volunteered on the board of the YWCA. She mainly worked with new immigrants in the Strathcona and Chinatown area who were highly educated, such as lawyers, doctors, and professors. With the overwhelming number of immigrants coming from Hong Kong, and not enough resources to aid everyone, she realized that there was an urgent need in Vancouver to provide assistance to these individuals in order to help them adjust. Thus, Mappie Ip decided to found SUCCESS, the Society of United Chinese Enrichment Social Services. With the help of approximately 15 other like-minded individuals, Maggie was able to receive long term funding from the government's Department of Health and Welfare. In 1973, SUCCESS was registered as a non profit organization and by 1974 they opened their first office in Vancouver, on Main Street.

Today, SUCCESS continues to strive to promote the well being of all Canadian immigrants. The organization provides assistance in every way including employment, health, education, training, social services, family aid, and community involvement. With strong support from the Chinese community, the organization has expanded to form a MultiCare Society in 1995, and the SUCCESS foundation in 2001. Thirty six years later, SUCCESS has over 20 offices in the Lower Mainland and has gone overseas with offices in Seoul and Taipei. Through SUCCESS, Maggie has strongly impacted the Chinatown area with her tremendous community involvement, and endless volunteering.

“Volunteering has become a part of our lives, just like shopping or chores. It is a lifestyle”

Bing Thom

Born in 1940 in Hong Kong, Bing Thom immigrated to Vancouver, Canada in 1950 – where he completed high school and obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Architecture from the University of British Columbia. He then attended the University of Berkeley and received his Master's degree. In 1972, he joined Arthur Erickson Architects as project director and oversaw projects such as Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto (1977), the Robson Square Courthouse Complex in Vancouver (1973-79), and the Air Defence Ministry Building in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Bing Thom is one of Canada's most admired and accomplished architects. He is the principle founder of Bing Thom Architects (BTA), a Vancouver-based firm founded in 1980. Inspired by radial geometries and Asian influence, each project at any given time is ensured the maximum care and attention to detail at every stage. Bing Thom's distinguished career includes being awarded highly prestigious awards such as the Order of Canada (for his contribution to architecture) and the Golden Jubilee Medal for his outstanding service to Canada.

Thom has established a global reputation through his efforts to promote and improve the city of Vancouver. Mr. Thom is a founding member of the Chinese Cultural Centre that rejuvenated Vancouver's Chinatown, and is also a founding member of Builders Without Borders (a non-profit organization that constructs shelter worldwide to those most in need without prejudice of race, religion, gender, or political affiliations). He is also part of the Honorary Celebration Cabinet which hosts events to celebrate over 150 years of Chinese Canadian achievements in Canada.

"Architecture is the art of making a meaningful whole out of many divergent parts. Each component must be thoughtfully considered, but a building shines when the parts become inseparable. For me, a building starts as an intimate response to the site, location and program. The concerns of place, time, materials, space, light and user needs all play a part, but it is the coherent resolution of these concerns, the exploration of the places in between, that creates the poetry and image of a great building.”

Wayson Choy

Wayson Choy was born in Vancouver on April 30, 1939.  He spent his childhood in Vancouver’s Chinatown, attending high-school at Gladstone Secondary. After graduating, he stayed in Vancouver for his post-secondary education, completing his Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. Choy is a novelist and a short-story writer, most known for his story, The Jade Peony, which is a story based on his childhood experiences in Vancouver’s Chinatown.  Choy began writing the piece as a short story at the University of British Columbia in the 1970’s. When it was finally published in 1995, the work won such awards like the 1996 Trillium Book Award, the 1996 City of Vancouver Book Award, and spent 6 months on the Globe and Mail Bestseller list. His later works, like Paper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood and All That Matters, have also won a host of accolades and awards. Despite relocating to Toronto since 1967, the majority of his works are set in Vancouver’s Chinatown and shed light to the many experiences, sights, and sounds that the Chinese have faced in Vancouver during the 20th century.

"Everything significant in my life was visible in the beginning, even if I didn't see it at the time, everything comes back around."