The Chee Kung Tong Building is a Canadian historic building in

Barkerville, British Columbia Barkerville was the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush in British Columbia, Canada, and is preserved as a historic town. It is located on the north slope of the Cariboo Plateau near the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel. BC Highway 26, which ...

. The building is a rare surviving example of Canadian Chinese benevolent society architecture. It consists of a two-story wooden structure with two log lean-tos on the north and east sides and a balcony. The ground floor is divided into a hostel, kitchen, and socializing space and the top floor was divided between a society hall and an alter room. It is among the oldest surviving structures in the town. The building was constructed from 1874 to 1877. It was used by members of the

Chee Kung Tong The Chee Kung Tong (), or Gee Kung Tong, was a Chinese secret society established in 1880 and holds an active presence still. In earlier years, the society has also been recognized as the "Chinese Masons" and has been identified under various names ...

as a place for

Chinese immigrants Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...

to find shelter and job opportunities. It was designated as a historical site in 2008.

References

Buildings and structures in British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-struct-stub