Community Walking Tour – Chinese Canadian Townsite

Explore the rich history of Cumberland’s Chinese Canadian Community!

Cumberland’s Historic Chinatown: Begin your journey at Wong Gong (Jumbo’s) cabin, the last standing structure from Cumberland’s historic Chinatown. Walk through the main streets of Hai Gai and Shan Gai, where, from 1888 to 1968, a vibrant community of 1500 flourished with shops, churches, factories, clubhouses, bakeries, theatres, and family-run farms. You will learn about the lives of the ordinary and extraordinary people who came to work in some of the most dangerous mines in the British Empire.

Dawn Copeman

Dawn is an avid forest explorer, community historian and ‘naturalist in residence’ for the Cumberland Community Forest Society and the Cumberland Museum & Archives with a passion for the wild side of the forest including the incredible world of slime molds. Dawn has recently been championing to have the red belted conk as the village’s official fungus.

“I am a writer, photographer, historian and artist interested in all things Cumberland. Wandering the local forest trails daily I gather wild edibles to photograph and paint. Recently downsized from working in the Broadcast Industry, my day job involves volunteering as a researcher and conducting tours of Cumberland Chinatown, No.1 Japanese town and the old mine sites for the Cumberland Museum and Archives.”