Stadium-Chinatown Skytrain Station

Everyone has been there, generally in the last dozen days or so. You get off the train, you go to the game, you go to Canada Hockey Place, maybe a live site, but how many of these millions have gone to Chinatown? You know the other half of the station’s name?

Stadium Chinatown Skytrain Station

The station isn’t actually in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown, it is actually West of the Millennium Gate which marks the entrance pretty graphically to Chinatown. The Tinseltown complex and the condos around the Skytrain station are in an area of town the marketer’s have dubbed “Crosstown”. Crosstown has no historical significance. No local, no Vancouverite, says “Come on lets go to Crosstown!”

Chinatown with the exception of during the Chinese New Year’s parade is a lot less crowded than the area around False Creek. It is great for a stroll, or getting a bite of Dim Sum, or during the Olympics to take in one of many Art Installations and cultural expos going on.

Spirit of Place is now open in the Chinese Cultural Centre and the square at the entrance to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park. I wrote earlier how visiting the park or the garden might make nice break from the crowds. I also created a Do-It-Yourself Art Walk which starts in Chinatown at basically the bus stop at Main & Pender. It could easily includ Spirit of Place which is just across from Pender from the Bright Light installation.

If art and culture is not your thing and you really just want to watch hockey, Fortune Sound Club has set up a big 14ft screen and is showing the Canada VS Russia game free tonight. After that you could go for Dim Sum at Bao Bei, than maybe drinks at the Keefer Lounge before returning back to Fortune Sound Club to check out the Traveling Disco Party.

Stadium-Chinatown Skytrain Station has it’s own Wikipedia page and Translink has blogged about the changes to expect during the Olympics.

Thanks to Mike Chu for the first photo used in this posting.