Golden Village (Richmond, British Columbia)

Golden Village, Richmond (2018)

A small sample of typical stores in the Golden Village.

The Golden Village is a commercial district of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada with a high concentration of Asian-themed shopping malls. According to the 2016 Census, 54 percent of Richmond's population identify as Chinese ethnic origin.^[1] As such, the Golden village boasts a high density of, not only Chinese, but all variety of Asian shops and restaurants.^[2]

Location

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. Most commercial buildings are accessible from the west side of Hazelbridge Way.

It is considered part of the city's main commercial district, extended from its original area around No. 3 Road and Westminster Highway.

Major commercial facilities

	Aberdeen Centre Main article: 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 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 closed in 2015, which is based in the city, and a Buddhist temple operated by Taiwan's Fo Guang Shan.
	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. However, Osaka Supermarket was converted to a mainly-Chinese Asian fusion supermarket after it was purchased by T & T Supermarket.
	Parker Place Main article: 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.
	Continental Centre Located at the corner of Cambie Road and Sexsmith Road, Continental Centre is at the centre of Richmond’s rapidly growing Asian commercial district. It provides a variety of retail in bakery, beauty salon, Chinese BBQ, supermarket, optical shop, cosmetics, telecommunication, seafood, pharmacy, Chinese medicine, restaurant, café, jewelries, health products, and teas. Also available are professional services such as accountants, lawyers, medical practitioners, dentists, Chinese Traditional Medicine clinics, insurance brokers, tutoring and academy centres, real estate brokers, bank, photographer, travel agents, and cultural societies. Official website: www.continentalshoppingcentre.com
	Alexandra Road Unofficially known as "Food Street,[3]" 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.[4]
	Union Square As developments increase in the Capstan Way area, the Union Square provides these new residents with a supermarket, restaurants, and other local shops. A new Canada Line [5] station is planned to service this area of the Golden Village. The station will be funded by developers, Concord Pacific and Pinnacle International.
	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, Cosmo Plaza and Pacific Plaza.

Transportation

Golden Village is served by public transit, funded by TransLink. Since 2009, the area is connected to Vancouver and to central Richmond by the SkyTrain Canada Line, which has a station within Golden Village called Aberdeen.

There are also bus connections in Golden Village to Richmond Centre, New Westminster, British Columbia, Steveston, the University of British Columbia and Burnaby, British Columbia. (For more information, see List of bus routes in Greater Vancouver.)

Golden Village is directly connected to Richmond's Sea Island, home to Vancouver International Airport, via the Moray Bridge and the Sea Island Bridge.

See also

• Chinese Canadians in British Columbia

References

External links

• Tourism Richmond's Golden Village brochure (PDF file)
• Tourism BC: Richmond (includes the Golden Village)