Victoria’s Chinatown

In Canada's oldest Chinatown, you will feel the traces of Chinese immigrants a hundred years ago, and you are worth visiting.

A great place to start your walking tour around Victoria. Start on Fisgard Street, then down Fan Tan Alley to Market Square, then enjoy the shops on Government St on your way to the harbour.

Victoria’s Chinatown 500 Fisgard St, Victoria, BC ?‍♀️The first Chinatown in Canada ??Victoria's revitalized Chinatown is a popular area for tourists as well as for the artistic community. The focus is the 500–600 block of Fisgard Street, including famously narrow Fan Tan Alley, the old Chinese School and a small selection of historic buildings and Chinese businesses. Many historic buildings have been well preserved in Chinatown and also in the larger area it once occupied along Government Street, Herald Street, Store Street, and Pandora Avenue. The modern Chinatown continues to be a key component of Downtown Victoria with its many tourist attractions, hotels, bars, restaurants, movie theaters, services, and shopping areas. The district was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1995. Some of the tourist attractions of Chinatown are the previously mentioned Fan Tan Alley (originally a private walkway, now home to offices and retail shops), and its ornate gate, The Gate of Harmonious Interest. The stone lions that are part of the gate were built in Suzhou (Soochow), one of Victoria's sister cities. Many of Chinatown's most historical and important places are out of public view, like the Tam Kung Chinese Temple, which is the oldest of its kind in Canada. The Chinatown in Victoria, British Columbia is the oldest Chinatown in Canada and the second oldest in North America after San Francisco's. Victoria's Chinatown had its beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century in the mass influx of miners from California to what is now British Columbia in 1858. It remains an actively inhabited place and continues to be popular with residents and visitors, many of whom are Chinese-Canadians. Victoria's Chinatown is now surrounded by cultural, entertainment venues as well as being a venue itself. Chinatown is now conveniently just minutes away from other sites of interests such as the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, Bay Centre, Empress Hotel, Market Square, and others.

Beautiful China town in summer and winter. It has nice tunnel to cross one side to another. It’s beautiful at night specially

Small but nice. Friendly atmosphere. Clean! Found a lovely shop serving bubble tea.

Cannot say more about this Chinatown. Best Chinatown ever! Well protected history and great integrated modern life! Artistically developed city plan with details.

Not sure what's the hype about China Town. It's all beautiful architecture and lights. Most of the shops were closed on weekend and we corks hardly find any place to eat. The small alleys inbetween are really beautiful and glad that I felt like exploring it eventhough the alleys were completely empty. There is a little souvenir shop on one corner too.

Very nice Chinatown, clean, compact and felt safe unlike here in Seattle. The restaurants looked amazing and I will be back to try them. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom!