New neon dragon signs on lamp posts brighten up Vancouver's Chinatown

Vancouver Chinatown dragon neon signs. (@mrflorencio/Submitted)

Vancouver’s Chinatown is taking a nod from its neon past for its latest public realm uplift.

Just in time for the Lunar New Year, a total of 16 neon signs are in the process of being installed onto the street light posts over a two block stretch of East Pender Street between Main Street and Carrall Street.

Each sign features colourful neon lighting stripping that aptly forms the shape of the dragon, given the significance of this particular zodiac animal in the fast-approaching Lunar New Year. The design of the signs were unveiled in a press conference with Mayor Ken Sim and Vancouver City Council on Wednesday.

You might also like:

So far, as of of this morning, nine neon signs have been installed, and the remaining seven are a work in progress. The neon signs are being positioned into a space typically used to suspend street banners made out of cloth materials.

These dragon-shaped neon signs also complement the decorative dragon figurines found on the existing LED lanterns affixed to the mid-section of the street lamp posts across Chinatown.

Vancouver Chinatown dragon neon signs. (Vancouver Chinatown BIA)

This is an initiative of the Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement Association (BIA), which first began planning the signs over two years ago, and it has since become a placemaking passion project.

“Chinatown used to be famous for its neon signs and its unique designs. And it really is an homage to the past. Even though it took all that time to get here, it’s appropriate that it comes out at the start of the new Year of the Dragon,” Jordan Eng, the president of the Vancouver Chinatown BIA, told Daily Hive Urbanized.

He hopes to have these temporary signs remain in place for up to at least six months, with a potential permanent replacement at some point in the future.

“It’d be nice to have something on a more permanent basis, just because of the amount of time it takes to produce and go through the process to get it certified, and all the engineering effort that goes into it to get it to where we finally installed it.”

Vancouver Chinatown dragon neon signs. (@mrflorencio/Submitted)

The installation of the neon signs also comes just ahead of Chinatown’s largest event — the Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Celebration, also known as the Lunar New Year Parade or Chinese New Year Parade.

The parade and festival through the streets of Chinatown on Sunday, February 11, 2024, the second day of the Year of the Dragon, are expected to attract over 5,000 participants and 100,000 spectators.

In Spring 2023, the provincial government also allocated $2.2 million to the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation’s efforts of restoring storefronts and historic neon signs, and performing lighting upgrades for Chinatown businesses and infrastructure improvements for the Chinese Cultural Centre.

Neon lights of Vancouver’s Chinatown district in the 1960s on East Pender Street, looking west from Main Street. (Rolly Ford/Heritage Vancouver Society)

mings bamboo terrace restaurant vancouver chinatown neon lights 1960 f1

Neon lights on the exterior facades of Ming’s and Bamboo Terrace restaurants in Vancouver’s Chinatown in 1960. (City of Vancouver Archives)

Downtown Van (the local business improvement association for downtown Vancouver) also recently engaged in a major lighting installation as a public space activation for the plaza at Robson Square. A catenary system with 3,000 programmable LEDs have been suspended over the plaza since November 2023. This installation, also temporary, will remain in place until the end of February 2024.

Additionally, over at the Canada Place Way promenade, the temporary “VANCOUVER” sign that was first installed in early December 2023 will also remain in place until the end of February 2024 due to its immense popularity.

You might also like: