Katherine Bickford

Built in 1924, the Nanaimo Chinese Cemetery is a rare link to the heritage of Nanaimo’s Chinese community. The Chinese came to Nanaimo as early as the 1860s to work in the coal mines or to open businesses.

Initially, the Chinese settled in what is now downtown Nanaimo but in the 1880s they were removed, by the coal company, to the outskirts of town in an effort to reduce tensions. By 1908, a new Chinatown, one of the largest in North America at that time, was established near the western edge of the city. This last Chinatown was destroyed by fire in 1960.

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