Yue Shan Society

Brief History

Yue Shan Society occupies a complex formed by three buildings and a courtyard. This was a common urban form in early 20th century Chinatown. The Yue Shan Society complex is the only remaining residential courtyard in Chinatown today.

Yue Shan refers to the northern district of Poon Yue County, Guangdong Province, China. The Yue Shan Society branches overseas were formerly known as Chong Hoo Tong (trans: prosperity for the descendants). The Vancouver branch was formed around 1894, but did not yet have a permanent location.  It helped members correspond with families and helped raised funds to sent relief back home. The name was changed to Yue Shan Society in 1939. A few years after, in 1943, members registered the association to collect money to purchase the current building site.

Resources

Chinese Canadian Historical Society (2005). Historic Study of the Society Buildings in Chinatown. Report prepared for the City of Vancouver. Available from City of Vancouver.

Parks Canada. Canada’s Historic Places, Lim Sai Hor Association Building. Parks Canada Website.http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=11192

University of Victoria. Victoria’s Chinatown Website. Yue Shan Society: A Native-Place Organization of Sam Yap (Three-County) People in Canada. http://chinatown.library.uvic.ca/yue_shan_society