As Calgary's Chinatown evolves, those who love it hope some things never change
CBC
Danny Luong's favourite childhood memories of Calgary's Chinatown in the '90s are of dashing through the narrow alleys and streets, playing with shadows and light, chasing his brother and cousins and never caring about the traffic.
Drivers there knew to expect people on the roads, he said. Because it's Chinatown.
"Jaywalking is kind of an inside joke, right?"
Luong spent most of his childhood in Chinatown after his family was forced to flee Vietnam during a period of upheaval. They had Chinese roots and were no longer welcome. In Calgary, his father owned a butcher shop, Leung Ky Meats. Today, Danny is an artist and photographer who works in the area.
To him, Chinatown is a place for bootleg Pokemon stuffies, great bubble tea, unexpected murals in obscure back alleys and a constantly changing assortment of new businesses.
"I hope that Chinatown can always be a place where things are a little bit different and offer people things like cheaper food or inexpensive items.… That's the most culturally important thing that it can offer. It's a safe haven for many different people with different views, religions."
You could say Chinatown is at a crossroads. Since the pandemic, several core businesses have shut down or moved to the suburbs, including the grocery store, butcher shop, bakeries and long-standing restaurants.
It mirrors the struggle in many Chinatowns, like those in Toronto, Houston and Vancouver, which are fighting gentrification while trying to stay true to the communities that founded them.
But the story of change here is complex.
Calgary Chinatown proponents are quick to point to a dozen new businesses that outnumber those lost. They include a Vietnamese cocktail bar, fusion dessert shop, vintage clothing stores and new restaurants.
It also has a solid core of cheerleaders now — groups like Friends of Chinatown, which lead dim sum tours, support events such as the Lantern Festival and advocate for the area in general. That's building momentum and may bring new investment from the city.
After years of consultation, Calgary city council passed a set of new planning documents in 2022 and is expected to review community funding requests for new infrastructure this fall.
The neighbourhood sits on both sides of Centre Street, just south of the Bow River. The narrow streets have red lanterns and red benches. They're often busy with pedestrians, many of them seniors who live in the local non-profit housing and practise tai chi in the park.
There are papered-over windows and empty shops. But on a recent weekday, the air is filled with the sounds of construction. Crews are fixing entranceways and installing new signs.
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