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Because there is such a strong Chinese population in the city, the Lunar New Year period is often one of the most exciting and colourful in the city. There is usually a parade in Chinatown and many of the public schools usually have a day off on Chinese New Year. You can also catch celebrations at Tinseltown mall (1 minute from Stadium Skytrain station), and in Richmond at the International Buddhist Temple. There, visitors can experience Chinese New Year festivities with traditional snacks and foods, auspicious flower arrangements, Chinese calligraphy and exciting raffles.
The oldest part of downtown. You will find cobble-paved boulevards and over-priced tourist traps selling every imaginable thing you can print "Vancouver" on. Popular with tourists are the Gastown Steam Clock, promoted as the only active steam clock in the world but in fact an electric clock that pumps steam, rather an underwhelming experience. The area is notorious for aggressive beggars-drug addicts who are quite unsettling.
A distinctive red and mustard coloured building completed in 1910. It was the first steel-framed high-rise built in Vancouver and briefly was the tallest commercial building in the British Empire.
Located at the western edge of Chinatown, it consists of ornamental arches with tiled roofs in traditional Chinese style.
A Ming-dynasty style garden in Chinatown. Built in 1986 by Chinese craftsmen using traditional materials, tools, and techniques, this was the first classical garden built outside China. The gardens combine traditional Chinese buildings, plants, a small lake, and curved footpaths to create the illusion of a very big place within a single block. Tours are available. Compared to the city park next door, the differences are quiet but profound: more interesting materials, richer vistas, greater serenity.
Constructed by Vancouver-area designers at the same time as its classical garden neighbour, this public park shares the lake and the Chinese garden look. But this is a city park, and free to enter.
A clock that tries to look old and belches steam every 15 minutes may not be the most stunning landmark, but it has an endearing charm in a kitschy kind of way. It was built to take advantage of the steam vents that are all over downtown Vancouver, but it never lived up to its billing and now relies on electricity to count the minutes. It is one of a kind though and remains a photographic pilgrimage for thousands of Vancouver tourists.