Classical Chinese Garden: Private Benefactors

Pat Carney Dept: But Prime Minister Brian Mulroney joined British Columbia and the City of Vancouver -along with a wide array of private benefactors -in funding an unrivalled icon in the heart of Vancouver, the first authentic classical Chinese garden built outside of China, according to Vancouver Sun. The idea of the garden arose in the 1970s and 1980s when the freeway debates and reform to Canada's immigration laws brought unprecedented value to Chinatown and Chinese culture. Vancouver was changing from a provincial to a world city. The need to bridge the city's ethnic divides was obvious and when then senator Pat Carney went hunting for federal funding to build Vancouver's Dr. Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden in the early 1980s, she faced a consistent question: "What is a Chinese garden?" "Parks Canada thought it must have something to do with Agriculture. Agriculture thought it belonged to External Affairs," Senator Carney told a recent 25th anniversary gathering of the garden's founders. The garden has remained on most Vancouver "Top 10" attraction lists since it opened. While many visit it simply for its beauty, it offers much more. About 5,000 children take part in the Garden's school programs in a typical year. It is Vancouver's No. 1 public gathering spot for Chinese festival celebrations. It hosts a constant stream of concerts, art shows, lectures and cultural events. As reported in the news.
@t prime minister brian mulroney, sun yat sen