Handy Guide to Walking Tours

History, art & social justice walks are an always popular component of the festival. Put on your comfy shoes, grab an umbrella and come along.

WHERE IS CHINATOWN? with唐人街關注組Chinatown Concern Group
Saturday October 29, 11am (est. 90 minutes)
Meet on the front steps of Carnegie, 401 Main
$10; free for local residents
As Chinatown continues to gentrify, will it even be recognizable? Will it be called ‘Westerntown’ instead? ‘Coffee-town?’ Gentry-town?’ What do all these changes in Chinatown – a flood of market housing and changing retail composition that favours higher income people – mean for low-income working-class Chinese residents of Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside? Members of 唐人街關注組 Chinatown Concern Group will lead a tour of their beloved but rapidly changing Chinatown, as they share what is happening in the neighbourhood and why they are concerned. The tour will visit key sites of change, struggle, and threats in Chinatown.

SNEAK PEEK OF CHINATOWN with Judy Lam Maxwell and Steven Wong
Saturday October 29, 1pm – 2:30pm
Meet at Sai Woo, 158 Pender
$10; pay what you can for local residentschinatown-walking-tour-steven-wong-judy-lam-maxwell-cred-david-cooper
Join hosts Judy Lam Maxwell and Steven Wong for a glimpse of Chinatown. The tour begins at heritage restaurant Sai Woo, climbs flights of stairs up to a heritage clan association, tours a Chinese herbal store and ends at legendary Modernize Tailors, the last Chinese tailor shop now celebrating 103 years of business in Chinatown. Both Judy and Steven have active ties to the people and businesses in Chinatown; Judy leads Historical Chinatown Tours and Steven is third generation ‘man about town’ in Vancouver’s Chinatown. For a more comprehensive tour, please contact judy@chinatowngirl.ca.

RAILTOWN: THE GHOST TERMINUS with John Atkin
Sunday October 30, 10am (est. 2 hours)
Meet at NW corner of Jackson and Alexander
$10; pay what you can for local residents
Once considered as the site for a major railroad terminal, Railtown today is an eclectic mix of warehouses, studios and housing. On this tour we will explore this curious bit of the city and its quirky history. John Atkin is a civic historian and author who has explored Vancouver like few others. With his deep knowledge of urban planning and his love of architecture, John leads a fascinating tour that is layered with offbeat insights into the city’s architecture, history and neighbourhoods.

Whazzat?WHAZZAT? A WALKING TOUR OF CHINATOWN with Robert Sung
Sunday November 6, 11am – 1pm
Meet at courtyard of the Chinese Cultural Centre, 50 E. Pender
$10; pay what you can for local residents
Ever find yourself peering into an herbal medicine shop in Chinatown and asking “Whazzat? What’s in all those bottles?” We’ve found just the person to help us find the answers. Robert Sung conducts walking tours in Chinatown called “A WOK AROUND CHINATOWN” with a focus on the culture, symbols and philosophy of food and medicines, and how they relate to culinary trends. Join Robert for a tasty sampler of all things Chinatown – you may even try some of the unknowns. The walk will conclude with a no-host dim sum lunch.