Montreal’s Chinatown celebrated its heritage status Saturday with the third annual Chinatown Day.
“My grandmother used to live right here in Chinatown, and she passed away some years ago. She was the one that kept our family connected to our roots, so it’s really important now that we have kids of our own to show them part of their culture, part of their history,” said Vance Chow, a Montrealer.
The celebrations started at the Kahéhtaien Lumb Garden located on Viger Avenue and De Bullion Street in front of the Montreal Chinese Hospital.
Biyu Chen’s bitter melons were ripening on a trellised vine.
“We grow vegetables for ourselves, but we also share with seniors who are too old to grow their own vegetables,” she said.
“This is a great place for seniors who live in the Chinese hospital to come here for their daily walks,” Chan added.
It’s a place for the community members–from all walk of life–to gather, according to Anna Can, organizer at the Kahéhtaien Lumb Garden.
“The garden is a collective garden that’s Asian and Indigenous,” said Can. “It’s a place for the community to gather, whether its seniors, indigenous residents, or even a housed or unhoused residents.”
Can confirmed that, “it’s our third season here in our last season here.”
The city announced plans to use the lot that the garden is located on for housing development. Organizers are campaigning for a permanent home–suggesting a spot next to Onze-Onze, the temporary public space on the corner of René Lévesque and Saint-Laurent.
For Eric Leong, the founder of Paifang, Chinatown’s first queer asian initiative, revitalization is rooted in diversity and inclusion.
“We were able to bring drag into Chinatown, we were able to bring different queer programming and bring seniors and Asian folks together,” said Leong.
“My hope is that Chinatown can also be a sanctuary for queer-identifying folks who can come here, who can feel like they are a part of this community and be a part of this community.”
Chinatown Day celebrations continued throughout the day at six more locations in the neighborhood.
“Chinatown is a community of communities,” said Leslie Cheung, a member of the garden. “There’s Korean restaurants, Chinese restaurants, Mexican restaurants and there are Indigenous organizations operating in this in this very small neighbourhood.”
When asked about the future of Chinatown, this question guides Cheung: “How do we keep the heritage of this neighbourhood and the history of it alive in a way that continues to evolve?”
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