Chinatown
49°17′ N 123°06′ WNeighbourhoodDowntown and Stanley Park
Chinatown suits a half day of history and eating on foot. The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden closes at 4 pm and the Chinatown Storytelling Centre at 5 pm, so start in the morning and stay on for dinner at Kissa Tanto or Bao Bei. Both open their doors at 5:30 pm.
Photo by Albert Stoynov on Unsplash and others, credited in the gallery
Field card · Town · No. 003 · checked 16 Oct 2026
The garden allows handheld cameras only, so leave the tripod.
Who should base here
Stay at Skwachàys Lodge beside the Millennium Gate if you want Chinatown and Gastown both on the doorstep. Stadium–Chinatown station is about 300 metres from its door.
Eat in Chinatown
Kissa TantoRestaurant
One Michelin star in the 2026 guide, at 263 East Pender Street; tables open on Tock 30 days ahead.
Bao BeiRestaurant
Michelin-recommended in 2026, at 163 Keefer Street, open from 5:30 pm every evening.
BarbaraRestaurant
On the 2026 Michelin Guide's recommended list, at 305 East Pender Street.
Phnom PenhRestaurant
A 2026 Bib Gourmand at 244 East Georgia Street.
Things to do in Chinatown
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese GardenGarden
A Ming dynasty-style garden home at 578 Carrall Street; the October 2026 listing gave 9:30 am to 4 pm, Wednesday to Sunday.
Chinatown Storytelling CentreMuseum
Exhibitions and archives on the Chinese Canadian story at 168 East Pender Street, open daily from 10 am to 5 pm.
Chinatown sits on the unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and the səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). Parks Canada writes that more than 10,000 Chinese labourers came to British Columbia between 1881 and 1885 to build the Canadian Pacific Railway, and many of them settled in Vancouver once the work ended. In 1886 the new city leased 160 acres along Main Street at East Pender to the Chinese community. That lease laid the foundations of Chinatown.
From 1885 to 1923 Canada charged every Chinese person seeking entry a head tax: $50 at first, $100 from 1900 and $500 from 1903. On 1 July 1923 Parliament passed the Chinese Immigration Act, and because it passed on Dominion Day the Chinese Canadian community called it Humiliation Day. Fewer than 50 Chinese immigrants were admitted before its repeal in 1947. The Government of Canada apologized in the House of Commons on 22 June 2006, and it designated Vancouver's Chinatown a National Historic Site on 19 July 2011.
Look up along Pender Street for the recessed-balcony style that Parks Canada names in the designation, where deep balconies sit back from the street under tiled roofs. The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden at 578 Carrall Street is a Ming dynasty-style garden home, and its society says it was the first of its kind built outside China. Its listing in October 2026 gave 9:30 am to 4 pm with last entry at 3:30 pm, Wednesday to Sunday, and the garden asks visitors to check its Google listing for changes. A couple of blocks east at 168 East Pender Street, the Chinatown Storytelling Centre opens daily from 10 am to 5 pm with exhibitions and archives on the Chinese Canadian journey.
Kissa Tanto at 263 East Pender Street holds one Michelin star in the 2026 guide and releases tables on Tock 30 days ahead at midnight. Bao Bei at 163 Keefer Street and Barbara at 305 East Pender both stay on the guide's recommended list. Michelin gives its Bib Gourmand for good cooking at moderate prices, and Phnom Penh at 244 East Georgia Street holds one in 2026.
Worth knowing
- Hastings Street runs a block north of Pender through the Downtown Eastside, where many people experiencing homelessness and people who use drugs live and use services. Keep valuables out of sight as you would on any downtown street, and call 911 in an emergency.
- The garden allows handheld cameras only, so leave the tripod and the drone at the hotel.
- The garden holds special events at Lunar New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival, and visitors are welcome to wear traditional dress for them.
- Kissa Tanto opens Wednesday to Sunday from 5:30 pm, so plan a Monday or Tuesday dinner around Bao Bei, which opens every evening from 5:30 pm.
- The Vancouver Chinatown BIA's free two-day Chinatown Festival ran on 25 and 26 July in 2026, its 24th year.
Quick answers about Chinatown
Is Vancouver's Chinatown a National Historic Site?
Yes. The Government of Canada designated Vancouver's Chinatown district a national historic site on 19 July 2011, Parks Canada says, and Victoria's Chinatown received the same status in 1995.
What was the Chinese head tax in Canada?
The head tax was a charge Canada placed on every Chinese person seeking entry from 1885: $50 at first, $100 from 1900 and $500 from 1903. The Chinese Immigration Act of 1 July 1923 then shut out almost all Chinese immigration until 1947, and Canada apologized in the House of Commons on 22 June 2006.
Where is the Millennium Gate in Vancouver's Chinatown?
The Chinatown Millennium Gate stands on West Pender Street at the entrance to Chinatown, and it opened in 2002. Skwachàys Lodge sits about 70 metres from it on OpenStreetMap.
Is Chinatown a good place to stay?
Stay at Skwachàys Lodge beside the Millennium Gate if you want Chinatown and Gastown both on the doorstep. Stadium–Chinatown station is about 300 metres from its door.
How do you get to Chinatown?
Stadium–Chinatown station on the Expo Line sits about 320 metres from the Millennium Gate on OpenStreetMap, and TransLink's table puts it 5 minutes from Waterfront.
Within 12 km
Places to stay nearby
Within 12 km
Places to eat and drink nearby
Within 12 km
