GOLDEN VILLAGE (RICHMOND, BRITISH COLUMBIA)

The 'Golden Village' is the neighbourhood in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada best known for its high concentration of Asian-themed shopping malls. It is the home to the second-largest Asian community in North America ^[1].
With Richmond's Asian-Canadians making up 60 percent of the city's population ^[2], the Golden Village is sometimes seen as the "new Chinatown" of Greater Vancouver and is often blamed for luring many Chinese Canadians away from Vancouver's Chinatown. While Chinatown is often viewed as a lower income area, bordering Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside, Richmond is an affluent suburb with little crime and other problems. The Golden Village is also larger than Vancouver's Chinatown.

Contents

Location

Attractions

Aberdeen Centre

President Plaza

Yaohan Centre

Parker Place

Alexandra Road

Garden City Road

Richmond Night Market

Transportation

See also

References

External links

News sources

Location

The Golden Village's approximate borders are Sea Island Way to the north, Garden City Road to the east, Alderbridge Way to the south and about 300 metres west of No. 3 Road to the west. It is considered part of the city's main commercial district, extended from its original area around Richmond Centre.
The Golden Village is also five minutes from Vancouver International Airport, which may have helped the growth of the Asian population of the area -- three bridges connect the airport area almost directly to the Golden Village.

Attractions

	Aberdeen Centre Main articles: Aberdeen Centre Aberdeen Centre is the largest of the many Asian-themed malls in the Golden Village. When the original Aberdeen was built, it was one of the first Asian malls in Richmond. As the Asian population grew, it became too small and was rebuilt around 2002. It primarily serves Chinese-Canadians from Hong Kong but has since diversified to include Mainland Chinese and, with the opening of the discount store Daiso, Japanese customers as well.
	President Plaza Main articles: President Plaza President Plaza is a mall primarily built to serve the Taiwanese population. It is most notable for its large hotel complex, owned and operated by Radisson Hotels. It is home to T & T Supermarket, which is based in the city, and a Buddhist temple operated by Taiwan's Fo Guang Shan.
	Yaohan Centre Main articles: Yaohan Centre Yaohan Centre was originally designed to be a Japanese-themed mall but has since diversified to a Pan-Asian style that includes the Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Korean populations, among others. It is home to Osaka Supermarket, the largest Japanese supermarket in the area.
	Parker Place Main articles: Parker Place Parker Place is a Hong Kong-style mall that is smaller than its other indoor mall counterparts. It is notable for its high concentration of clothing stores featuring Asian-style fashion. It also holds the title for being the second Asian mall to be built in Richmond, after the original Aberdeen Centre. With Aberdeen's recent rebuilding, it is now the oldest of all the Asian malls in the Golden Village.
	Alexandra Road Unofficially known as "Food Street," Alexandra Road is home to one of the highest concentration of restaurants in Richmond. The restaurants there feature a various range of Asian cuisines. The types of Asian restaurants also vary -- in addition to traditional restaurants, there are many hot pot and buffet restaurants as well, which is a change compared to the rest of the Golden Village. [3]
	Garden City Road Because No. 3 Road is getting increasingly dense, some Asian malls have located themselves closer to Garden City Road, the closest major road to the east. Most of the Asian malls on Garden City are small and located outdoors, a change from the traditional Asian malls on No. 3 Road, and resemble multi-level or very large strip malls. Some notable malls include Continental Square, Empire Square, Central Plaza, Union Square, Cosmo Plaza and Pacific Plaza.
	Richmond Night Market Main articles: Richmond Night Market The Richmond Night Market starts on the Victoria Day holiday and ends around Labour Day. Many of the Golden Village's merchants use the Night Market as a chance to gain some business by selling their products at discounted prices. Many non-Asians frequent this event as well, making the crowds quite diverse compared to the Asian malls in the area. The market's location varies each year; the most recent location is just off the Knight Street Bridge, across from IKEA.

Transportation

The Golden Village is well-served by public transit, funded by TransLink. A bus rapid transit line called the 98 B-Line connects Richmond to downtown Vancouver and the airport; its stops within the Golden Village are called ''Sea Island Way'', ''Capstan Way'', ''Aberdeen'' and ''Alderbridge''. This accounts for almost half of the route's Richmond stops.
In 2009, the 98 B-Line will be replaced by the rapid transit Canada Line. It will eventually have two stations located within the Golden Village, ''Aberdeen'' and ''Capstan Way''.
There are also bus connections in the Golden Village to Richmond Centre, New Westminster, Steveston, the University of British Columbia and Burnaby. ''(For more information, see List of bus routes in Greater Vancouver.)''
The Golden Village is also directly connected to Richmond's Sea Island, home to Vancouver International Airport, via the Moray Bridge and the Sea Island Bridge. As the Golden Village is directly below the landing path for many planes, it is not unusual to hear airplanes roaring above at low altitude.

See also

★ Richmond, British Columbia

★ List of Canadian Chinatowns

★ Chinatown, Vancouver

References

1. http://www.asianpacificpost.com/portal2/ff80808109e700500109f4f10f0f001c_Richmond_s_Golden_Village.do.html
2. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050205/RICHMOND05/TPTravel
3. http://www.yourlibrary.ca/community/richmondreview/archive/RR19980128/goodliving.html

External links

★ Tourism Richmond's Golden Village brochure (PDF file)

★ Tourism BC: Richmond (includes the Golden Village)

News sources

★ The Asian Pacific Post: "Richmond's Golden Village"

★ The Globe and Mail: "Dim sum meets cellphone nirvana"

★ The Vancouver Courier: "Golden Village has plenty to crow about"

★ The Vancouver Courier: "The rise of Richmond"

★ NWsource (Seattle, Washington): "Thriving Asian suburb offers an exotic escape"

★ Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "On Food - Seeking the best Chinese food? Look to Richmond B.C."