Tag Archives: China

Richmond B.C., a simple suburb of Vancouver, is more than just another Chinatown.  Just 25 mi above the Canadian border, rumor has it that Richmond boasts the largest concentration of Chinese outside of China.  In 2006, the population was 45% Chinese (and 10% Scottish which I find surprising) and this population segment was growing rapidly (up 21% from 2001) (http://www.richmond.ca/discover/demographics.htm).  Now, understand, that Richmond is a fairly large city and there are large areas with few Chinese.  So, in the core of the shopping district, a.k.a. the Golden Village, a population of 45% Chinese overall can appear more like, well, 100%.  In fact, on our first trip, we arrived late and wandered into a mall to find food.  No one spoke a word of English.  It was as if our 2.5-hr car drive had been a 15-hr plane flight.  We ordered by pointing, smiling, and Read more »