Edmonton Chinatown Stories

The Mah Society's Jessica Mah talks about the surprising early days of the organization, and how it's changed over the years.

Emmy Mah was a young teenager when she came to Canada, and she was one of the very few Chinese females in Edmonton at the time. Due to this, she was asked to participate in the Klondike Days Parade Float in 1953. Her radio clip portrays a real sense of excitement as she reminisces about children smiling and her high heel shoes.

Local artist Grace Law remembers visiting the Harbin Gate as a child in the late 1980s. Whenever her family would visit, from either Hong Kong or Calgary, they would get into the car and drive to Chinatown to take photographs of the Gate. Grace reflects on the Harbin Gate as a public space that is both personally and culturally significant.

Helen Kwan Yee Cheung, a 2013 M.A. University of Alberta graduate, pursued studying the Chinese community history in Edmonton through the lens of Cantonese Opera. She found that Cantonese Opera had elements of several social functions: cultural entertainment, philanthropy, and homeland politics. In this audio story, Helen talks about Cantonese Opera providing cultural entertainment not only for the viewers/listeners, but also for the performers.

Helen Kwan Yee Cheung, a 2013 M.A. University of Alberta graduate, pursued studying the Chinese community history in Edmonton through the lens of Cantonese Opera. She found that Cantonese Opera had elements of several social functions: cultural entertainment, philanthropy, and homeland politics. In this audio story, Helen talks about Cantonese Opera being used as a platform for the politics in China.

In this piece, we are just outside of the Shaw Conference Centre with Ken Gee, learning about the hill of Goji berries that once grew there on Grierson Hill. Ken shares a meaningful memory about him picking these berries with his grandparents, and how they were preserved, even through the construction of the conference centre.

Stan Mah reflects on his late father, Victor (Vic) Mah opening and running the original Blue Willow restaurant. He takes listeners back to the past with a vivid description of the restaurant including a fun story about the restaurant’s goldfish.

Helen Kwan Yee Cheung, a 2013 M.A. University of Alberta graduate, pursued studying the Chinese community history in Edmonton through the lens of Cantonese Opera. She found that Cantonese Opera had elements of several social functions: cultural entertainment, philanthropy, and homeland politics. In this audio story, Helen talks about Cantonese Opera playing a philanthropic role in the community.

Rachel Meldrum speaks here with Raymond Ng. Raymond talks about the free, weekly Chinese newspaper named the Edmonton Chinese News (or 爱华报) that he published for the Chinese community in Edmonton to facilitate convenient communication between Edmontonians and Chinese culture. The Chinese movie house in Edmonton put in a weekly ad to promote their films, as well as many other businesses. This news was convenient and essential in promoting cultural events in Edmonton and remaining aware of important events and happenings in China.

In this piece, Raymond Ng talks about the Edmonton Chinatown Multicultural Centre. The centre offers weekly table-tennis and language lessons that provide another fun and welcoming place in Edmonton for all sorts of cultures and ethnicities to interact.

In this piece, playwright Marty Chan shares a couple of childhood memories of Edmonton's Chinatown along Jasper avenue. He talks about the trip to Chinatown that his family frequently made for groceries and Dim Sum. Marty also shares memories of a nearby store where he found his favorite Chinese treat, Haw-flakes and the Chinese comic "Old Master Q."

Tin Yip talks about the history and importance of the Harbin Gate in Edmonton's Chinatown, and about how it has been temporarily removed for construction of an LRT.

Tin Yip speaks about his integration into Canadian society. Tin explains how both learning and playing Canadian sports when he first arrived were essential in his smooth integration into society. He also talks about the importance of cultural exchange and how racial discrimination is a two-way street, requiring both sides to meet in the middle with understanding.

Maria Wong has lived in Edmonton since 1977. She remembers visiting a burger restaurant owned by a Korean couple. Maria was drawn to the friendliness of the owners, their son, and the delicious seasoning salt.

When local playwright Marty Chan married his wife Michelle, they decided to pay tribute to their heritage. Marty’s parents choose their favourite Chinatown restaurant to host the Chinese wedding banquet. He talks about one dish in particular that he remembers.

Retired architect Ching Tse is responsible for designing many buildings in Edmonton's Chinatown. He discusses his intention to inject traditional Chinese architecture into his designs. One of the ways Ching achieved this aesthetic was through the use of Chinese roof tiles. He talks about the significance of the roof and its colour, and recalls the struggles he encountered along the way.

President of the Edmonton Chinese Computer Society Patrick Tso discusses his first experience with the society: a Chinese character typing competition. Patrick was intrigued by a tablet, which allowed contestants to handwrite Chinese characters and transmit them to a computer.