Vancouver, Canada

At the end of the 1800s, Chinese workers moved to Vancouver to work in the mines and on the Trans-Canada railway. Now, this Chinatown is North America’s third-largest after New York City and San Francisco, become one of the best Chinatowns in the world. Apart from specialty stores and restaurants, Vancouver’s Chinatown also has a beautiful garden, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, featuring pagodas, fish ponds, miniature trees, tea ceremonies, and free history tours. It stretches for several blocks east of Main Street and its center is a 10- to 15-minute walk from downtown. On Columbia Street is the Chinese Cultural Centre, which provides a good introduction to the role of the Chinese in western Canada's history. From esoteric Chinese herbs and spices to jade and silks, there are numerous specialist shops along East Pender and Keefer streets to fascinate even the most shopping-averse.

Chinese immigrants flocked to Vancouver following the British Columbia gold rush, but also in part due to the Canadian Pacific Railway. With roots in the 1880s following the era of gold rushes and railroads, Vancouver's Chinatown is also a lesson in endurance, given that the Chinese Exclusion Act (among other things) quelled Chinese immigration in the 20th century. Despite those setbacks, the city's Chinatown has become one of the largest in the world - visit the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, take a selfie under Millenium Gate, eat up at Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie, steal some fresh aromas at Treasure Green Tea Company, and stop by the beloved-if-eclectic Jimi Hendrix Shrine are the most popular destinations.