Down Town - China Town

Down Town - Gas Town - China Town

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Down Town is a wonderful mixture of building architectures both old a new making a really interesting and vibrant community.

A main feature of Down Town was the harbour. Unfortunately, it was a rather wet and windy day when we visited. Still, we saw the Ferry Terminal (which was designed to look like a ship) and also the local airport which serviced sea-planes.

At the border between Down Town and Gas Town lies the Canadian War Memorial.

Gas Town

In its earlier days, Vancouver had relied upon Coal and Gas for its heating, lighting and industry. As a result, an entire quarter had grown up for the production of gas from coal - called Gas Town.

One of the most interesting features for visiting tourists is the gas powered clock. In fact the gas heats a boiler which runs a small steam engine that powers the clock. In addition to this, the street lamps throughout this sector still emulate the old style gas lamps that had been used in the past.

China Town

Just to the south of Gas Town lies China Town. During the early years when Vancouver was being built up, many Chinese workers had been brought in to help to lay railroad tracks and to work in the new and growing industries. After a while the Chinese immigrants gathered together to form a home from home called China Town.

The entrance to China Town is through a traditional archway

Soon after entering through the arch we found a beautiful garden of tranquillity which had been created by a local dignitary to give people a place to relax and reflect.

Of course, the main street of China Town was lined with little shops all selling traditional Chinese foods, spices and nick-nacks. One shop, that could only be described as a Pound Shop had a tape recorder booming out at full power shouting in Mandarin that everything must go. The whole visit was quite and experience