乃磨華埠文脈館
Nanaimo Chinatown Heritage Foundation
Recognizing the history and cultural heritage of Nanaimo's Chinatowns
Join our campaign to save Nanaimo Chinatown's last buildings
Recognizing the history and cultural heritage of Nanaimo's Chinatowns
The Nanaimo Chinatown Heritage Foundation is dedicated to advancing the permanent institutional recognition of Nanaimo’s historic Chinatowns as sites of cultural and historical significance.
We advocate for the recognition, conservation, and restoration of Nanaimo’s remaining Chinatown heritage sites while fostering public awareness and education about Chinese diasporic life in Nanaimo. Through this work, we aim to contribute to a more inclusive understanding of Nanaimo’s past, present, and future.
First Chinatown
Esplanade and Victoria Crescent area
(1860s-1884)
Second Chinatown
Bing Kee St area
(1884-1908)
Third Chinatown
Pine and Hecate
(1908-1960)
Fourth Chinatown
Hecate and Machleary
(circa 1920s)
Many believe there are no longer any traces of Nanaimo’s Chinatowns after the big fire of Fall 1960, but their history endures through the last remaining physical structures in the Nanaimo's original Third and Fourth Chinatowns on Hecate Street. These buildings stand as important reminders of Chinese life, community-building, and continuous placemaking in Nanaimo, including the longstanding presence of the Nanaimo Chinese Freemasons.
Today, these historic buildings are under threat of sale and redevelopment. Help us advocate for their recognition and protection as heritage sites worthy of preservation by the City of Nanaimo.
880 Hecate St.
Old Chinese Freemasons Building
in the Nanaimo's Fourth Chinatown
997 Hecate St.
Old Chinese Freemasons Building
in the Nanaimo's Third Chinatown