Chinatown Reimagined is a community forum taking place in October 2021.  Convened by the City of Vancouver and UBC, the Forum is the culmination of a three-year-long process with the community to explore a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation for Vancouver’s Chinatown. The vision of this initiative is to realize Chinatown’s potential as a cultural destination for the world and to pass on its cultural heritage legacy to future generations. 

Chinatown Reimagined is a three-day event with interactive sessions exploring innovative, community-led approaches on key topics including: significance of tangible and intangible heritage, thriving cultural heritage economy, sustainable community capacity building, and stewardship for the future. The goal of the Forum is to bring together diverse people who are passionate about Chinatown and its future and to discuss its role as a local and global cultural heritage district. 

Presenters and panelists include community organizations, business operators, heritage practitioners, cultural groups, representatives from historic sites and Chinatowns around the world, the next generation of leaders, and academics. These conversations are opportunities to reflect on the community’s resilience against today’s challenges and to celebrate all accomplishments to-date. The Forum is also a chance for participants to share their bold visions and tangible ideas for Chinatown. 

This exciting community forum welcomes everyone who is interested in supporting Chinatown and is interested to take bold steps towards its future. Join us at this forum and together, let us re-imagine a new, vibrant future for Chinatown.

On 17 September 2018, the City of Vancouver and the Province of British Columbia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signalling the commitment to  join together to have Vancouver’s Chinatown  designated as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site. This MOU marks a new and significant opportunity to invest in  Chinatown while highlighting the many significant contributions that generations of Chinese Canadians made to Vancouver. The Province and the City of Vancouver have also committed to establishing a Chinese Canadian museum.