Chinatown

An afternoon's walk around Chinatown with the Helios 58mm lens.

Jeff Maltby - Chinatown Murals 3

Above is a detail from Jeff Maltby's third Chinatown mural just a few steps away from the two previously posted. I like this detail because these kids just look so nice, especially the one on the right looking right out of the picture at us. Below we can see the whole mural - a tour de force trompe l'oeil.

Take few steps back to see this amazing mural in context. Some parts of it, like the sign for the restaurant on the upper right are actually real.

I think it's a tribute to this artist that although these paintings are right at street level and you can walk right up to them and touch them they (and the other Maltby murals) remain free of graffiti or other gratuitous damage and these are nine years old.

Jeff Maltby - Chinatown Murals 2

Just around the corner from the painting I posted yesterday, in the passageway leading from Pioneer Square to Fisgard Street is this interesting mural. It takes us on a little voyage through time with the three children running towards the Chinese Public School, the distinctive steps of which can be seen in the background. The picture fades from black and white to color from left to right as history progesses with the first little boy wearing what may have been a school uniform of 1909, the year the Chinese Public School was opened. The little girl is dressed in '50s style - look at those saddle shoes. And the little boy on the right with his skateboard and crash helmet is definitely from the modern era. The way the painting is hung, the children are running towards the Chinese Public School on the opposite side of Fisgard Street as they may well have done through this passageway years ago.

Jeff Maltby - Chinatown Murals 1

On Fisgard Street, Victoria's Chinatown's main street, there are three Maltby murals. The one pictured above may be found opposite the Chinese Public School. It is a group portrait of the Lee Mong Kow family of Chinese immigrants in 1905. Maltby always manages to bring his characters to life with thoughtful, friendly expressions.

Herbalist

Another of the facets of Chinatown that I experienced when Fern and I took the Chinatown Tour was Chinese traditional medicine - we went into a Chinese herbalist shop and looked around. Above are the bins of Ginseng - this stuff is expensive! Below is what I hope would be prescribed for me. I am fond of fungi though this one is not one I've seen before.

Jaywalker!

Here's another interesting Chinatown fact I learned on the Chinatown walking tour I mentioned yesterday. This young man crossing the street in the middle of the block is NOT going to get busted for jaywalking. In Chinatown, by virtue of a special city bylaw, jaywalking is legal. It's a nice little recognition that our Chinatown is a special place with its own culture.

Dr. Sun Yat Sen

Fern and I took a "busman's holiday" on Saturday and went on a guided walking tour of Victoria's Chinatown. The tour, led by local historical raconteur Chris Adams, was fascinating and taught me new things about an area of the city I thought I knew well. I fully intend to take some of their other walking tours and recommend them highly. If you are planning a visit to Victoria don't hesitate to spend a few hours on one of their walking tours. You can find out about the tours they offer on their website, discoverthepast.com. One of the things I discovered was the statue pictured above, Dr. Sun Yat Sen. The statue was erected by the Chinatown Community as a mark of respect for Dr. Sun Yat Sen. Many of the Chinese people who came to Victoria in its early days came because conditions under the imperial government in China were so bad. As they became more successful here they continued to have a strong interest in improving life for those who remained in China. For many the best way to do that was to support Dr. Sun Yat Sen in his efforts to overthrow the imperial government in China. To make a long story short, Dr. Sun succeeded in ousting the Emperor of China, became the first President of China, and the rest is history. I will refer you to Wikipedia for more details. Suffice to say that Dr. Sun is immensely important in Chinese history where he occupies a place not unlike Nelson Mandela in Africa.

Blue Skies

The sun came out yesterday while I was downtown and it was so nice to see some blue sky I just took a photo of it from where I was - just across the street from the Chinese Public School on Fisgard Street.

Chinatown Architecture

Before we leave this Victoria Chinatown series, here's a couple more of the unusual and distinctive buildings in the area. Above, though it lacks the pagoda style roof trim, the third floor balconies seem to be characteristic of other Chinese buildings nearby. See, for instance, the two narrow buildings below, The First Chinese Empire Association (on the left) graced with two balconies. The Yen Wo building on the right actually has a balcony on the top floor that is walled in. The Lee's Benevolent Association building featured here a few weeks ago has a similar top floor balcony over looking the street.

Details

I mentioned a few days ago how I appreciated that even the details in Chinatown contribute to the ambiance. Here's two examples, a bike rack and a trash container, both painted the bright red that is an auspicious color in Chinese culture.

Venus Sophia

Yesterday's window seat photos were taken while I was waiting for my lunch to be served in Venus Sophia, a delightfully comfortable restaurant/tea parlor in the heart of Chinatown. It manages to hold its own though surrounded by a dozen Asian restaurants, probably because it is as good as it is different. You can see my lunch below and it was delicious. I eat there fairly often and am never disappointed.

People-Watching

There is a constant flow of pedestrians and other traffic along Fisgard Street in Chinatown and the best way to enjoy it is to find a good window seat.

Dragon Alley 2

Dragon Alley has quite a different character from Fan Tan Alley though they both begin with very narrow entryways from Fisgard Street in Chinatown. While Fan Tan Alley exudes a foreign/Chinese atmosphere throughout its length, Dragon Alley is chic and modern - boxy pastel condos and boutiques dominate though there's lot of old brick as well.

Dragon Alley

Fan Tan Alley (yesterday's post) is only one of Chinatown's two exceedingly narrow passages. Across the street and down the block is another, Dragon Alley, that passes northward from Fisgard Street to Herald Street. We'll take a walk down Dragon Alley tomorrow.

Fan Tan Alley 2

While it's narrower at both ends Fan Tan Alley widens out in the the middle of the block. There are shop entrances on both sides.

Photographers love doors and this one in Fan Tan Alley has got to be the most photographed door in the city. It's got everything - color, texture, location (fractional address), nice lozenge-shaped panels and brass fittings. Fittingly, it's the entrance to a photographer's studio.

There are shops of all kinds but for me the most fascinating are those selling Chinese artifacts and curios. Here's one room of a favorite shop of mine that has about 7 or 8 similar rooms connecting to it in a winding maze that eventually leads to Fisgard Street. I could spend hours here (this shop also has some interesting artifacts from the history of Fan Tan Alley on display.

Fan Tan Alley

Our Chinatown has some interesting architectural features that include some very narrow passages between buildings. Fan Tan Alley runs right through the block from Fisgard Street to Pandora Street and is barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. We'll have a closer look at it tomorrow.

Chinese Stone Lions

Though parts of Chinatown are on all sides of the Gate of Harmonious Interest, the gate really marks the entrance to Chinatown proper since lower Fisgard Street is the heart of the district. Since the gate marks the entrance it is fitting that it is guarded by the two Chinese stone lions that traditionally guard the entrance to important areas. As you can see in the photos above, the two lions are not identical. They are yin and yang, female and male. On the left above is the protective female with her cub under her paws. On the right is the male with a globe (the world, the universe) in his paws. He protects the district and she protects those who live within it. Like the gate itself, these lions were a gift from Victoria's Chinese sister city, Suzhou .

More Chinatown

Here is a close-up of a building you can see in the background of yesterday's post. The tall part of the building is identified as "The Lees Benevolent Association". The shorter part of the building is signposted as "Shon Yee Benevolent Association". These associations occupy the upper floors with the street level devoted to businesses. Like the building housing the Tam Kung Temple, this double building is very narrow and the four doorways visible yield two fractional addresses (614½ and 612½).

Bright Pearl

Here is a family enjoying the Bright Pearl, a large stainless steel globe of the world that can be rotated by hand in its cool water bath. It is located where Centennial Square (home of Victoria City Hall) meets Chinatown, just opposite the Gate of Harmonious Interest. The plaque beneath it reads:

As the centrepiece between Centennial Square and historic Chinatown, the Bright Pearl honours the many people who immigrated here from the Pearl River Valley in China. The Bright Pearl welcomes citizens and visitors alike to this civic square, especially those from our twin cities around the world.

Chinatown Phone Booth

One of many things I like about our Chinatown is the attention to details. Bike racks, lamp posts and pedestrian benches are all designed with Chinese motifs and color. This phone booth (almost an historical artifact these days) on Fisgard Street fits in perfectly