Chinatown Walk

Date of Walk: June 23, 2003

Length: 1/2 mile each way
Time to Walk: 15 minutes each way plus shopping time
Type of Walk: Downtown, Shopping, Restaurants
Location: Downtown Vancouver
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How To Get There / Parking
Click the Map button above for directions and a map. Chinatown is located right next to one of the most impoverished neighbourhoods in Canada. We recommend you avoid Hastings Street which is one block north of the Chinatown Walk on Pender Street. We parked at a meter between Abbott and Carrall Street.

Let's Go!
Our walk started at Carrall and Pender Streets, heading east on Pender. The entrance to Chinatown is a large ornate gate.

On the south side of the street, one block after the gate, is the Chinese Cultural Centre. The courtyard of the centre is the entrance to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens. Bill stopped to admire the bust of the good Dr.

The walk covers five blocks from Carrall Street to Gore Street, making it the second largest Chinatown in North America. One of the main attractions of Chinatown is the mix of brightly coloured store fronts with trees and statuary.

You'll find everything from cheesy tourist shops to fine art galleries. The Chinese grocery and herbal medicine shops are an attraction in themselves. We really enjoyed the Chinese ceramics and objets d'art. David bought a wildly colourful purse for his wife - she has almost forgiven him.

We walked a few blocks to Dix BBQ & Brewery - you gotta love a place that brews its own beer and barbecues meat!