Chinatown Millennium Gate

Gastown & Chinatown


Inaugurated in 2002, Chinatown's towering entrance is the landmark most visitors look for. Stand well back, since the decoration is mostly on its lofty upper reaches, an elaborately painted section topped with a terra-cotta-tiled roof. The characters inscribed on its eastern front implore you to 'Remember the past and look forward to the future.'

The gate sits on the same site as a previous, temporary wooden one, built here for a royal visit in 1912. The lions on either side of the Millennium Gate originally had polished granite balls in their mouths, but they mysteriously disappeared soon after the gate was unveiled and have never been found.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Gastown & Chinatown attractions

1. Jack Chow Building

0.04 MILES

This unusual spot was known for decades as the Sam Kee Building until Jack Chow Insurance changed the name and spruced it up. Listed in the Guinness Book…

3. Woodward's

0.14 MILES

The project that catalyzed latter-day Downtown Eastside redevelopment, this former iconic department store was a derelict shell after closing in the early…

4. Maple Tree Square

0.2 MILES

The intersection where Vancouver began was the site of John 'Gassy Jack' Deighton's first pub, and the spot where the inaugural city-council meeting was…

5. Flack Block

0.21 MILES

Restored to its former glory in 2014, this dramatic corner landmark across from Victory Sq is chiefly noted for its hulking, elaborately-carved stone…

6. Dominion Building

0.24 MILES

A handsome architectural vestige of yesteryear Vancouver, this copper-hued, French-style vintage skyscraper across from Victory Square is well worth a…

7. Rogers Arena

0.25 MILES

This large multipurpose stadium hosts the National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks. On game nights, when the 20,000-capacity venue heaves with fervent…

8. Carnegie Community Centre

0.26 MILES

The city's first public library was a landmark corner building funded by US philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in the early 1900s. Now a community center…