Chinatown is a

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, that was formed in 1909 and serves as an enclave of Chinese expatriates. Located on King Street between James and Higgins Avenues, adjacent to the

Exchange District The Exchange District is a National Historic Site of Canada in the downtown area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Just one block north of Portage and Main, the Exchange District comprises twenty city blocks and approximately 150 heritage buildin ...

, it was officially recognized in 1968. Winnipeg's Chinatown is home to many shops and restaurants, including Asian grocery stores and an herbal products store. In more recent years, as of 2021, a newer '' de facto'' Chinatown in the city's

Fort Richmond Fort Richmond is a provincial electoral division in the southern suburban part of Winnipeg in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was formed by redistribution in 2008 out of parts of the electoral divisions of St. Norbert and Fort Garry. ...

area has seen more Chinese-Canadian businesses open every year.

History

19th century

Winnipeg's earliest documented Chinese residents were Charley Yam, Fung Quong, and an unnamed woman who came from the United States in 1877. After the completion of the first phase of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

(CPR) line in 1885, hundreds of Chinese began to settle the

Prairies Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

. Also in 1885, nearly all immigrants of Chinese descent were required by the ''Chinese Immigration Act'' to pay a head tax of $50. By 1886, the Chinese community had opened 8

laundries Laundry is the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with this uni ...

. At this time, most Chinese arrivals originated from Chenshan Village in Heshan County,

Guangdong Province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

. They tried preventing non-Heshan people from settling in Winnipeg by ambushing non-Heshan people at the railway station, assaulting them, and forcing them to continue heading eastward. In consequence, an undetermined number of Chinese immigrants who were originally headed to Winnipeg, ended up in Fort William and other

eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

cities. At times, those who settled in Fort William returned in groups to Winnipeg to assault the Heshan people there. This conflict, among other things, development for a Chinatown in Winnipeg did not make headway for several years. In addition, by 1900, the federal head tax had risen to $100, and three years later to $500.

20th century

In 1909, a handful of Chinese stores were established on King Street between Pacific and Alexander Avenues, a few blocks north of Winnipeg’s city hall and

market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

. By 1910, a small cluster of Chinese businesses began to develop, and the Chinese population increased 5 times by 1911 compared to the 109 Chinese residents in 1901. It developed just outside the core of the central business district,

. During the decade of the 1910s, various organizations were founded in Chinatown, including 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 n ...

, the Chinese Nationalist League (or

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

), the

Chinese Empire Reform Association The Chinese Empire Reform Association, abbreviated as C.E.R.A (''Baojiu Da-Qing Huangdi Hui'', ), or, more often, Baohuanghui, ) was a worldwide Chinese political association founded by Kang Youwei (1858–1927) in Victoria, British Columbia on ...

, and the

Chinese Benevolent Association The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) is a historical Chinese association established in various parts of the United States and Canada with large Overseas Chinese communities. The association's clientele were Chinese immigrants ...

, as well as various

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

associations such as Gee How Oak Tin Association. The Chinese Christian Association, established on Logan Avenue, organized services and English language classes for Chinese residents. By 1919, Winnipeg had the 5th-largest

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

and

Chinese community in Canada Chinese Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Chinese ancestry, which includes both naturalized Chinese immigrants and Canadian-born Chinese. They comprise a subgroup of East Asian Canadians which is a further subgroup of Asian Canadians ...

, with 900 men and a handful of women. In 1921, Chinatown covered 6

city block A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. In a city with a grid system, the block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are th ...

s bounded by Princess and Main streets, and Logan and Rupert avenues, with King Street as its main business street. Around one-third of the 800 to 900 Chinese people in Winnipeg worked in the city’s 300

, while the remaining two-thirds worked as cooks, domestic servants, or labourers. In 1923, the 1885 ''Chinese Immigration Act'' was revised to exclude virtually all Chinese from entering Canada, and was colloquially known as the ''Chinese Exclusion Act''. Until it was repealed in 1947, few wives and children had been able to join husbands and fathers in Canada. By 1970, an increasing number of middle-class Chinese families began moving out of Chinatown. Moreover,

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

projects were occurring nearby, including the Disraeli Freeway and a new

civic centre A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...

and

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention ...

on Main Street. Not wanting to see the destruction of their neighbourhood, the community of Chinatown formed the Chinatown Development Corporation in 1971 to create a large-scale development plan for Chinatown. In 1981, Joseph Du and Philip Lee successfully lobbied Mayor

Bill Norrie William Norrie (January 21, 1929 – July 6, 2012) was the 39th Mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was a onetime Chancellor of the University of Manitoba. Norrie was also involved in various charities, and once chaired the United Way of Winnipeg's ...

, the Manitoba government, and federal ministers to revitalize Chinatown with the construction of the Dynasty Building, Mandarin Building, housing complex, and the Chinatown gate. The Winnipeg Chinatown Corporation was subsequently established that year, followed in 1983 by the Winnipeg Chinese Cultural and Community Centre being incorporated as part the overall development project. The Winnipeg Chinatown Non-Profit Housing Corporation (CNHC) was established for the construction of the Harmony Mansion, which officially opened on 13 September 1986. The Dynasty Building and the Mandarin Building were completed in 1987. Since 1987, much of Winnipeg's Chinese population has migrated to a stretch of

Pembina Highway Route 42 is a major arterial road located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It connects the suburbs of North Kildonan, East Kildonan, Fort Rouge, Fort Garry, and St. Norbert with the city's downtown core. In the north, it is a continuation of Manito ...

, between the

Perimeter A perimeter is the length of a closed boundary that encompasses, surrounds, or outlines either a two-dimensional shape or a one-dimensional line. The perimeter of a circle or an ellipse is called its circumference. Calculating the perimet ...

and Abinojii Mikanah. Approximately 25% of Winnipeg's 12,700-strong Chinese-Canadian community live in a cluster of neighbourhoods in south

Fort Garry Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in or near the area now known as The Forks in what is now central Winnipeg, Manitoba. Fort Garr ...

, while

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

's historic Chinatown is now home to 3% of the city's Chinese-Canadian population.

21st century

Started in 2009 as a way to commemorate the centennial of Winnipeg's Chinatown, a yearly

street festival A street fair celebrates the character of a neighborhood. As its name suggests, it is typically held on the main street of a neighborhood. The principal component of street fairs are booths used to sell goods (particularly food) or convey informa ...

called the Chinatown Street Festival has been held in the neighbourhood. The festival features traditional dancing, singing, martial arts, food and a merchant market. In 2011, the two-day festival expanded to include

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

and African dance groups, as well as the

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1947, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at the Centennial Concert Hall. Including travelling performances, the WSO presents an average of ...

. In 2011, a new

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

project was announced for Chinatown, called the Peace Tower. Costing an estimated $12.7 million, the project was planned to see the construction of a 48-unit, 7-storey apartment complex to be built at Princess Street and Logan Avenue. Construction of the tower began in June 2011; in December, the building at 271 - 273 Princess, known to most as Ham 'n Eggs Grill, was demolished as part of the project. The first tenants moved into the building in spring 2013. In November 2012, the Shanghai Restaurant was demolished in preparation of the building of the Peace Tower. Built in 1885, the building briefly housed Winnipeg's City Hall in the 1880s. The new building opened June 2013. In more recent years, as of 2021, a newer '' de facto'' Chinatown in the city's

area has seen more Chinese-Canadian businesses open every year.

Landscape and businesses

Winnipeg's Chinatown is a small neighbourhood in the city's downtown area, bounded by Logan Avenue to the north; Main Street to the east; James Avenue to the south; and Princess Street to the west. The main constructs in today's Chinatown are the result of a rehabilitation and redevelopment scheme, and includes the interconnected Dynasty and Mandarin buildings, which were completed in 1987; along with Harmony Mansion and the Chinatown gate. The 6-storey and Dynasty Building is located at 180 King Street and is the centrepiece of Chinatown. Its architecture shows influences from China's

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

and

Gate of Supreme Harmony A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*gatan'', meaning an opening or passageway. Synonyms include yett (which comes from the same root w ...

and

Palace of Heavenly Purity A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

. The multi-use building contains shops, banks, and offices, as well as the Chinese Culture and Community Centre. The Cultural Centre was opened on 1 August 1987, and houses a large multi-purpose room and library, the only Chinese library in

Winnipeg Chinese Cultural and Community Centre

The 2-storey Mandarin Building sits at 223 James Avenue and was formerly the City of Winnipeg Police Court (later the City Engineering Building). The older portion of the building was constructed in 1883 and it initially held 18 jail cells, a large main-floor

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

, office-space, and a police dormitory. The building is decorated with a replica of the Imperial Nine Dragons mural found in Beijing's Forbidden City. Linked to the Dynasty Building is the CA$500,000 Chinatown Arch gate which sits at the entrance of the neighbourhood and connects the Dynasty and Mandarin buildings. The Harmony Mansion, officially opened on 13 September 1986, is a 10-storey

apartment complex An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement ( Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) t ...

on 201 Princess Street. It contains suites with a housing capacity of 500

tenants A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant has rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a lea ...

, as well as a 140-stall

parkade A multistorey car park (Commonwealth English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistorey, parking building, parking structure, parkade (Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck, or indoor parking, is a building designed fo ...

. The Peace Tower Housing, a 7-storey

housing project Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

, is the most recent addition to Winnipeg’s Chinatown. The project, built on the southwest corner of Logan and Princess streets, operates under the direction of the Peace Tower Housing Corporation. Using

geothermal energy Geothermal energy is thermal energy extracted from the crust (geology), crust. It combines energy from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay. Geothermal energy has been exploited as a source of heat and/or electric power for m ...

, the complex has 48 units (ranging from 1 bedroom to 3 bedrooms per unit), a multipurpose room, and an adjoining patio for recreational use. The project is financially supported by the municipal, provincial, and federal governments, and cost about $15 million. The first tenants moved into the building in spring 2013. Shops and restaurants in Chinatown include: Young’s Market, Sun Wah Supermarket, Nan Bei Hang Herbal Products Co.; Sam Po Dim Sum Restaurant; Noodle Express; and Kum Koon Garden.

Demographics

As of the 2006

Census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Chinatown has 605 residents living within . 40.5% of the area's residents speak neither English nor French (as compared to 1% of Winnipeg as a whole), while 71.1% of residents speak some variant of Chinese (including

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

and Chinese not otherwise specified). 90% are in the Chinese visible minority group. 51.2% of residents reported that their place of birth was the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Only 53.9% of respondents over the age of 15 stated that they have a certificate, diploma or degree, as compared to 76.9% for the whole of Winnipeg. The most common mode of transport for residents is walking (38.6%), which is significantly higher than the percentage of Winnipeg residents who walk (6.2%). Average income for Chinatown residents is $15,481, while the average for Winnipeg is $33,457.

References

{{coord, 49.904, -97.140, type:city_region:CA-MB, display=title Asian-Canadian culture in Manitoba Ethnic enclaves in Manitoba Neighbourhoods in Winnipeg

Chinese-Canadian culture in Manitoba