Royal BC Museum opens an exhibition in a Chinese Metro station

Photo caption:  Chinese construction workers building the British Columbian stretch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, about 1884. When completed, the railway spanned the entire continent. D-07548./ Photo courtesy of the Royal BC Museum

As a first for a Canadian museum, the Royal BC Museum has opened a travelling photography exhibition, Guangzhou to British Columbia: The Chinese Canadian Experience, 1858 to 1958, at a major metro station in Guangzhou, China.
The exhibition, inside Yuexiu Park station, depicts how the gold rush in BC’s Fraser Canyon sparked a long relationship between Guangzhou and BC, including the challenges of migration, the heartbreak and successes of settlement and the overcoming of discrimination by the Chinese in BC.
“This kind of cultural exchange is a great way to celebrate 20 years of sister province relations with Guangdong Province,” said Premier Christy Clark.
”'Gold Mountain' was less lucrative than anyone could have imagined, but a number of these stories do end well with success in future generations outshining all other migrant narratives,” said Prof Jack Lohman, CEO of the Royal BC Museum. 
In 1858, the Chinese wanted to escape harsh conditions such as famine, internal conflict and the threat of Western colonialism. News of a gold rush in Canada lured many migrants to journey to British Columbia.
The rise of photography coincided with this emigration. Over a century, the photographs illustrate both Guangzhou and British Columbia, of people, landscapes, cityscapes and work environments.
Yuexiu Park is one of has more than one million people travelling its corridors every month.
Gold Mountain Dream! Bravely Venture into the Fraser River Valley will be featured from November 5 to December 20, 2015, at the Guangdong Museum of Chinese Nationals Residing Abroad. Gold Mountain Dream! is a travelling version of the popular Gold Rush! feature exhibition displayed at the Royal BC Museum.