Standing 38 feet tall and spanning a full city street, the Gates of Harmonious Interest is an eye-catching red and gold beauty. Featuring three arches, each of the pedestrian pathways is guarded by a stone lion. It was erected in 1981 and marks the entrance to Victoria, B.C.'s Chinatown. Victoria's Chinatown is the second oldest in North America, behind San Francisco and is Canada's oldest Chinatown. We were surprised that it was only about three or so blocks in downtown Victoria. We thought it would be bigger. Even being that small, it had a vibrant mix of restaurants, shops, and colorful architecture. It offers a unique cultural experience with its rich history and lively atmosphere. You can explore the area's local cuisine, charming boutiques, and immerse yourself in the dynamic energy of this historic site. Whether it's indulging in delicious food or admiring the distinctive architectural charm, a visit to Victoria's Chinatown promises an enriching and enjoyable experience for all. read more

Great walking area with a lot of stores to shop in. There is a lot of history here. We had fun just walking though and looking in the windows. read more

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It was a 3.5 star experience for me. I say this because we did see some interesting architectural details and learned about its history on a walking tour. Unfortunately, this part of the tour brought us here around 10:15 pm when most of the businesses were closed for the evening. Actually, the stores closed much earlier than that. Most cruise ships arrive at this port after 8pm. I would have loved to visit Fan Tan Alley, but even the entrance to the alley was closed. We did learn that this Chinatown is considered to be a National Historic Site. I mean, Canada didn't become a nation until about 1867. It's younger than the US in terms of history. However, it's the second oldest Chinatown in North America with San Francisco taking the top spot. I had no idea. The look of this Chinatown is actually impressive. You'll know you're in it when you see the red ornate lamp posts. It's small, but actually looks a tad bigger when taking the perimeter into consideration. The brick design on the sidewalks along Fisgard and Government Street were designed by Mickey Lam who was the urban design planner for the City of Victoria back in the late 70's and early 80's. He designed the brick sidewalks with two different chinese symbols when widening them for pedestrians during the Chinatown restoration project. Now, I'm not so sure which one I captured in the picture. I'm thinking that it's actually the interlocking symbols representing China on Fisgard Street. There is also a design of Chinese symbols on Government Street representing longevity. His restoration of the Gate of Harmonious Interest is also very impressive. The hanging chinese lanterns near the arch that are strung over the street also make it so pretty at night. Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about the businesses. I did see a Chubby Dumpling sign that really stood out to me. That's definitely a restaurant that I'd like to try one day. Oh, and we saw some rickshaw runners pulling tourists through Chinatown. That was a first for us. Other than that, it was mostly people partying in the streets. It was Friday night. It was definitely a unique experience. You might as well take it all in while you're there. read more

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Second oldest Chinatown in North America. Very cool. Tons of stores, great restaurants and shopping. Multiple blocks of Chinese history and activity. read more

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Omg ! Is just like movies but in a small scale . The food was very nice and the places were clean. We encounter lots of doggies walking feels like the old San Francisco . Is a must visit community . read more

Canada's Chinatown in Victoria BC Canada's Chinatown is not as big as the one in San Francisco CA, in fact, it is only 2 blocks long? BUT it is the oldest Chinatown in Canada and second oldest in North America (after San Francisco). We parked on the side street at Fisgard Street and walked towards Government Street where you'll see the Chinatown Gate. They called it the Gate of Harmonious Interest serving as the entryway. We wandered about the authentic shops, markets, and stopping to check some of the menu posted on restaurant front entrance. We found Fan Tan Alley by accident and took a stroll inside the narrowest street maybe not only in Canada but in North America. There is also another alley but not as popular as Fan Tan, it's called Dragon Alley and it too had coffee shops, cafes, studios, and workshops, as well as a small condominium development. Our visit was on a Labor Day and many shops and restaurants closed early as we were nearing the end of our Chinatown self-guided tour. I purchased a beautiful long embroidered jacket in one of the shops. I wanted to buy more stuff but the husband was monitoring my spending ugh! We ended our visit with an early dinner at Ocean Garden Restaurant (corner of Government and Fisgard Streets) which was a mistake. Review #3167 read more

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Long overdue visit to support Canada and tourism. We picked 1 destination for a day trip and had so much fun in Chinatown! We went down old alley ways, learned some history, visited a beautiful umbrella shop, and had one of the best lunches to ever grace my palate. Beautiful! read more

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Victoria has a Chinatown, and it is within walking distance from the cruise port. We were not able to come here the last time we were in Victoria, so we made it a point to stop by during the day. None of the sit down restaurants appealed to us this day, but did stop in to a bakery and a tea shop. There is also a very visible Pride crosswalk (aka rainbow crossing) which we thought was a very welcoming sign for tourists and residents alike. read more

Chinatown - Rainbow crosswalk - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me

This is the oldest china town in Canada and while only a few blocks it was an interesting bit of history. We did pick a Chinese restaurant for lunch. Street parking 2 hours max we got a ticket because we missed marked the spot number we found one number on the front of the sign one on the back so rather the th 6 dollars we paid the fine is 60. read more

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First off, this is the oldest Chinatown in Canada and the cleanest Chinatown I've ever been in. It's cute and pretty small but worth a walk through. Now, I have some gripes. We love supporting Asian owned businesses and make it a point to visit every Chinatown we can... this place is so gentrified. A majority of the shops we went into were not Asian owned which was a bummer and it seems like a lot of the culture/people have left. Some highlights. There's a Hakka temple tucked away on the third floor of the Yen Woo Society building. I recommend stopping by to pay your respects there. There is also a free museum in the Fan Tan alley that we'd recommend. read more

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The Chinatown is small but it is not bad. It is way cleaner and better than the Vancouver Chinatown. I don't have to worry about working in the area. The area does feel a bit dead. But like I said comparing it to Vancouver Chinatown, I feel a lot safer here. It is super small. Just two blocks or so. We were in the area for the craft brewery Phillips and Whistle Buoy. read more

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For those of you whom have little travel experience and are visiting from a small or medium sized cultureless and monotone chain restaurant filled city, this is probably a 5 Star experience...WOW! ASIAN STUFF!!! For the rest of us, Victoria's Chinatown is one of the most overrated and overhyped tourist sites in the history of tourism. It's barely 2 blocks of restaurants and shops. Besides the eateries, I highly doubt any locals actually shop here. Fan Tan Alley is waaaay overhyped! Yes, its a tiny alley with some independent and expensive shops...and that's the end of it. But its one of those things you've got to see for yourself since its mentioned everywhere in Victoria. That all said...this is the "cleanest" Chinatown I've ever seen! NOTE: Apologies, I am Asian and I grew up near San Francisco, the most legit China Town in America. read more

Our Crown Princess cruise ship docked on Friday at 7pm. My family and I took a bus to Chinatown. Not much to see; most of the shops were closed. We had a chance to savor Chinese food at Ocean Garden restaurant. We all craved for Asian food after eating cruise ship food for seven days. It was a good change of taste. We enjoyed the food and the stroll around the shops. Ordered: below are all Canadian rate - Beef with Garlic and Black Bean Sauce ($18.95) - Walnut Prawns ($24.95) - Beef Chow Mein ($15.95) - Rice ($4) - Beer ($5.95) read more

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Hands down the worst "Chinatown" I've ever been to. Aside from a few empty restaurants, there are a couple of grocery stores, and gift shop type places that aren't worth the walk over to the area. This area seems to lack any of the cultural presence you would think to find in an Asian town but rather looks like a ghost town that has been abandoned by the locals for a handful of years. The little "alley" way people talk about is literally a 2 second walk through a narrow alley that shows off stores that are either closed, unimpressive, or really Chinese in heritage. Was very disappointed stopping by here as one of my days in Victoria was planned around exploring this neighborhood. Wasted a 20 minute walk which resulted in an even shorter walk through this "cultural" landmark in Victoria. read more

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This historic Chinatown section of downtown Victoria is a pleasant walk from the Harbor. It's worth about 15 minutes for a quick photo shot and stroll by the main gate. However, if you are expecting to see a large, vibrant market bustling with activity, you will be sorely disappointed. It's just a single block with a few stores and restaurants. That said, walking through Fan Tan Alley is a delightful experience unless you are claustrophobic, and the main gate is lovely for a quick photo. After this brief stop on our walking tour, our family enjoyed a leisurely stroll west from Chinatown toward the bridge and a slow return back to the harbor area. read more

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One of the smallest Chinatowns ever I've been to. I love going to Chinatown when traveling and I expected more given this is Canada's oldest Chinatown! I guess going to Richmond a lot and Seattle's Chinatown, I've been spoiled. There is one main and solid strip and even then, the shops and restaurants were lack luster. Most of them closed and 5 and even then, it wasn't amazing. There's a handful of small shops, they're either a Chinese shop with everything from bowls to candies to grocery or fancy incense shops. Restaurants were okay and do serve authentic types of Chinese dishes. There's also one bubble tea place but didn't look authentic, it looks more like a bar... The street is nicely decorated with the lanterns, the gates, the street lamps were colored, and a couple dragons here and there. read more

Chinatown - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me

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It's not the worst but definitely needs improvements. It was clean and Fan Tan Alley was great but it didn't have as many shops and restaurants asI would have hoped. Some very nice buildings and an all around nice walk around but wouldn't say it's anything very special so don't expect too much. It was clean and worth visiting though. read more

This was by far one of the best areas of Victoria BC. It was my second stop, after getting off of the Victoria Clipper Ferry, my first being Murchie's Tea. I had seen a lot of photographs over Jennifer Tilly's Instagram page of the Chinatown area. She's one of my favorite actors & grew up in British Columbia, so she posts photographs of this area frequently. I had to check out the area, not only because of JT's IG page, but because I make it a point to check out the Chinatown area of every city I visit/live in. Chinatown, Victoria BC is small, but very vibrant and concentrated. It is well worth a visit at least once if you find yourself in the city of Victoria. Fan Tan Alley was the coolest part of the entire area. It's a narrow alley way that you walk through, and it's full of gift shops and eclectic businesses. They have a few new age store in between Triple Spiral Metaphysical was my favorite store. They offered a variety metaphysical tools, books, and gifts. My second favorite part of the area was The Bubble Tea Place. My friend and I had bubble tea there and hung out a while. They use very fresh ingredients. Next time I visit, I'm going to Venus Sophia Tea Room to enjoy their tea service. I will also try the dim sum places around the area. Don Mee has a famous reputation, and I look forward to trying their food once I'm back in the area. I was there a limited amount of time, so I definitely have a list of places to frequent when I return. read more

This was not what I was expecting. Very cold environment. People are not very welcoming which surprised me because people visiting have money to spend but it won't get spent when people are cold. We were not impressed. Underwhelming. Food was also disgusting. read more

This is one of the smallest Chinatown's I've ever been to. It is tastefully designed with lucky red lanterns and a red gate. This is all done in only a few blocks. You've got your souvenir store with all the little Chinese themed knickknacks and gifts. A few restaurants. I really like the fresh fruit and vegetable shop. I'd like to explore the store more to see if it has any exotic items. It all looks so good. Oh, and there are a few hidden gems like Dragon Alley. Close to the touristy areas near the water. It is worth a walk. read more

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Victoria's Chinatown is the second oldest in the USA, after San Francisco, but pales in comparison. It is a short walk down Government Street from the Empress Hotel The Gate of Harmonius Interest, built in Victoria's sister city Suzhou, China, welcomes you to its winding streets. Don't miss a stroll down Fan Tan Alley hung with red lanterns, origonally a private walkway, now home to retail shops. Shops and restaurants dot the streets, but we had dining plans and spent only an hour exploring. The small size of Victoria's Chinatown and easy walking access to the Inner Harbor can be a quick diversion to your visit. read more

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The Chinatown in Victoria is the oldest in Canada and second in age only to San Francisco's in North America, with its beginnings in the mass influx of miners from California to what is now British Columbia in 1858. Gayle and I walked through this compact 6 block district several times during our recent visit to Victoria and each time brought a new observation or discovery. Chinatown remains an active place for Chinese-Canadians, Victoria residents and tourists. It is now surrounded by cultural, entertainment venues (for example the McPherson Playhouse) as well as being a venue itself. One focus is the 500-600 block of Fisgard Street, including famously narrow Fan Tan Alley, the old Chinese School, the Gate of Harmonious Interest, and a small selection of historic buildings and Chinese businesses. Many historic buildings have been well preserved in Chinatown and also in the larger area it once occupied along surrounding streets. read more

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One of the smallest Chinatowns I've ever seen! It's literally 1 block by 2 blocks! Since I'm from San Francisco and we have a huge Chinatown, this seemed very small. Not a lot of variety in terms of shops, restaurants, etc. If you're looking for a souvenir shop, I also advise going elsewhere as we couldn't find any. Now the main attraction of this place are The Gates of Harmonious Interest. Such a large and beautiful Chinatown gate. Compared to SF's small little gate, this one was gorgeous! It was worth the walk from the cruise terminal to see this! The gate is at Government & Fisgard Street so make sure to go check it out! read more

Chinatown - The gates of harmonious interest - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me

Canada oldest Chinatown, pretty cool to visit here, it's older but a lot of small shops. Lot of coffee shops around the corner. Fan Tan ally (tight ally) has a lot of small little shops. It's very historical ally. Worth to pay a visit when you're in town. read more

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This place appears to be Chinatown only by label and geographical location I guess. As many others have stated, this "Chinatown" is soooooo small. It's literally only 1 block long. One very short block with hardly any stores that were open. I think I only counted one restaurant and one grocery store. Everything else was closest or out of business. Many of the businesses aren't Chinese or even Asian at all. There are quite a few modern businesses mixed in amongst the Asian businesses. I will say that I was disappointed. I was supposed to have a tour and I'm kind of glad I got food poisoning whereas I missed my tour because honestly I didn't miss much. You can walk through Chinatown in less than 15 minutes. Great for a quick photo opportunity but that's about it. read more

There are several pros and cons to this little spot called Chinatown. Let's start with the Pros 1. traditional Chinese heavenly gate that all Chinatown must have. 2. 2nd oldest in North America. 3. very clean 4. little alley ways that leads through streets with small shops to look at. 4. Pretty red lanterns and flower pots everywhere like the rest of Victoria. Cons. 1. literally only 2 blocks. I think I've been spoiled with SF and NY Chinatown ... because this is really depressingly small. 2. shops are more Americanized shops than actual Chinese/Asian store shops . 3. Not as many true Chinese restaurant I would expect or hope for. Still a cute place to go take a peek but don't expect much in terms of authentic Chinese Experience of open markets, bbq pork and duck hanging, old Chinese people walking around or real boba place that doesn't look like a bar around. read more

Chinatown - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me

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Very small since it us only a few blocks but still cute. I went during the day and loved seeing the little shops, veggie stands and workers grab lunch on such a pretty day. If you need some cheap gifts for people several shops have cute bars of soap that are .89 each. Totally worth it. They are wrapped well and even have a cute gold sticker. FYI most places take credit cards if you spend $10 or more. (But not the bakery) If you use cash you get Canadian back. That being said you should know to use Canadian here anyway ;) The great little bakeries and bubble tea makes it worth it. read more

Chinatown in Victoria is small at just one block by two blocks, but the beautiful buildings are a must see. We got here late and had fabulous Chinese food. Unfortunately, the rest of Chinatown was closed down when we were done with dinner so we didn't get to see anything else. I'll be checking it out the next time I visit. IMO, the main attraction is the gate. Really gorgeous and big, bigger than the one in San Francisco's Chinatown. read more

As a Chinese visitor from San Francisco, this Chinatown was definitely underwhelming compared to the one in SF. Went to a traditional Chinese restaurant and a boba shop here and both were pretty disappointing. The biggest attraction is probably the gate, but everything else didn't seem very authentically Chinese. read more

Small, but worthwhile visit. Go through Fan Tan ally. Definitely check out the beautiful and historic gates, have some delicious dim sum.

There really is no "Chinatown". It's roughly 2.5 blocks of Asian businesses situated geographically together. The only thing interesting to see was the art work on the statues as you are entering. I am giving it 3 stars because there is absolutely no cost to "seeing" this, but there's no point in going out of your way either. read more

Underwhelm. Very small considering it's the 2nd oldest Chinatown in North America. Very limited restaurant choices and the ones still there had awful yelp rating. We picked the restaurant that had the highest rating but still worse than Panda Express back home (for those who doesn't know what it is, it's a McDonald of Chinese food). read more

Victoria's Chinatown is small but has nooks, crannies and a narrow alley full of oriental fruit and vegetables, furniture and houseware, and food to delight all the senses. Definitely worth two or more hours wandering through the various emporiums. read more

Just on the cleanliness of this Chinatown alone I give it 5 stars! Not super duper clean, but hell of a lot cleaner than the Chinatown in Los Angeles and Honolulu. read more

This Chinatown is very old, and has some interesting things to it. Overall, I would say I have been to Chinatowns in other cities and have been more impressed, but it's definitely worth a visit. read more

It was ok. Historically, the buildings are the oldest ones in Victoria and have been untouched by modernization. Only one block long selling mostly fresh vegetables and trinkets that come from Asian decent. Didn't try the restaurants but there were some dim sum and Chinese food stores. Took pictures in Fan Tan Alley but the stores didn't have anything of interest. The alley was cool but could get crowded because it is a tourist attraction rather than a place to shop. read more

Good but not great. I'm sure a period of time ago, it was a bustling place: still has the charm and I did need to get there but lacks my dream of fabulous eating places. Its not a tourist place and I felt left out in the cold. It was great to see a Starbucks close by that fit into the Chinese theme, but that was it. read more

Victoria's China town is the oldest in Canada. There's a tour of you're interested that really opens your eyes to what it was like for the Chinese when they landed here. If you're out for a stroll head into habit coffee in China town. Grab a bows and arrows coffee, locally roasted, and head down fan tan alley. It's under construction right now - they're adding in some bigger stores. Fan tan alley used to be a gambling Mecca for the Chinese, a gangland war zone, and a refuge. You'll notice buildings with 51/4 as the address etc. That was because back in the day new immigrants couldn't stay anywhere in Victoria and the Chinese made half floors for them to rent for less. Wicked right. There's history behind the gate to China town and the surrounding buildings. Example, know why the buildings in China town are made of brick? The British ships used to bring in the Chinese were weighed down with bricks as ballast. It was considered a poor mans material back in the day and the Chinese used it to build China town (or the government, whomever...). There's a Japanese noodle place to the right of the gate, best noodles of life. read more

Not what I expected as it was missing the ethnicity. Where was all the Chinese markets and restaurants.?