British Columbia
BC Province
British Columbia , also commonly referred to by its initials BC or B.C., is a province located on the West Coast of Canada. British Columbia is also a component of the Pacific Northwest, along with the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington.
The province’s name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858, reflecting its origins as the British remainder of the Columbia District of the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada. Its Latin motto is Splendor sine occasu .
The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada, named for the Queen that created the Colony of British Columbia. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, the largest in Western Canada, and the second largest in the Pacific Northwest. In October 2013, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,606,371. The province is currently governed by the BC Liberal Party, led by Premier Christy Clark, who became leader as a result of the party election on February 26, 2011 and who led her party to an election victory on May 14, 2013.
British Columbia’s economy is largely resource-based. It is the endpoint of transcontinental railways and the site of major Pacific ports, which enable international trade. Its climate encourages outdoor recreation and tourism, though its economic mainstay has long been resource extraction, principally logging, farming, and mining. Vancouver, the province’s largest city and metropolitan area, also serves as the headquarters of many of the Western-based natural resource companies. It also benefits from a strong housing market and a per-capita income well above the national average. While the coast of BC and certain valleys in the south-central part of the province have mild weather, the majority of BC’s land mass experiences a cold winter temperate climate similar to the rest of Canada. The Northeast corner of BC has a Subarctic climate with very cold winters.
Vancouver Island-Victoria
Victoria Island is an island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the eighth largest island in the world, and at 217,291 km2 1 is Canada's second largest island. It is nearly double the size of Newfoundland , and is slightly larger than the island of Great Britain .
It contains the world's largest island within an island within an island. The western third of the island belongs to the Inuvik Region in the Northwest Territories; the remainder is part of Nunavut's Kitikmeot Region.
The Butchart Gardens is a group of floral display gardens in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, located near Victoria on Vancouver Island. The gardens receive more than a million visitors each year. The gardens have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada due to their international renown.
In the early days, weekly symphony concerts were hosted by Mr and Mrs. Butchart. These were often held for guests of the family, but later attracted a larger audience. More recently, in the Summer Season (July and August) and during the Winter Holiday Season they provide a wide range of local entertainment, from Jazz to classical music. Also, The Weeds, a band made up of staff members from The Gardens, sometimes plays during the Summer Season. In 1977, Ian Ross's son Christopher (1944–2000) introduced firework shows accompanied by show tunes on summer Saturday evenings. During the Winter, lights and seasonal decorations adorn the gardens along with an ice-skating rink in the Waterwheel Square.
Vancouver
Vancouver is a port city in British Columbia, western Canada, on the Pacific coast. It is across the Strait of Georgia from Vancouver Island and close to Washington State, USA. It is surrounded by mountains and the sea. It is the largest city in British Columbia with a population of about 1.9 million. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides and the sea on one side. Although it is located at a high latitude, it is affected by the Pacific monsoon and warm current in the south, and the Rocky Mountains that run through the North American continent in the northeast serve as a barrier. The climate is mild and humid all year round, and the environment is pleasant. It is a famous tourist destination in Canada.
Due to the pleasant climate conditions and unique natural beauty, Vancouver has become the most suitable paradise for hedonists. It is currently one of the most suitable cities for living in the world. In 1791, Spanish Captain Jose Maria Marvaez was also the first explorer to publish the Northwest Passage from North America to the East. After arriving in Vancouver, Marvaez outlined the topographic map of the Vancouver area at that time with the help of local indigenous people. Then on June 13, 1792, Captain George Vancouver led the British ship Discovery to Vancouver with a large gift of fish and was warmly welcomed by the local Musquean indigenous people. He was the first European to enter the inland through the mouth of the Burrard River, and exchanged local information with Spanish explorers Valdes and Galiano at English Bay, which is also the origin of the name Vancouver. In 1808, Simon Freser discovered a new trade route from the inland to the Pacific coast through the Freser River, which indirectly contributed to the gold rush and the origin of the name of the Freser River. In 1808, the Hudson's Bay Company, a major trader on the West Coast, expanded its business to the Vancouver area and established the Fort Langley trading post, and the white colonial period on the West Coast began. In 1846, Governor James began to supervise Vancouver Island and the inland area then called New Caledonia, and used the 49th parallel north as the demarcation of the colonial rule of Britain and the United States. In 1858, gold was discovered in the Fraser River Valley, and 20,000 people poured into New Caledonia. Britain urgently formulated and promulgated laws at this time, and appointed James Doulas as the first governor. Due to gold mining, logging and the opening of railways in the future, Vancouver became prosperous in the future. In 1859, New Westminster became the capital of British Columbia. In 1866, the first white Mc.Leery family moved to the Fraser River Valley to establish a lumber factory, and Vancouver's lumber industry began to develop. In 1866, Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of Greater Vancouver formed a federation. Vancouver was named after it, and the capital remained New Westminster until 1868, when the capital of Greater Vancouver was moved to Victoria on Vancouver Island. In 1872, the first bridge was built over the Fraser River, making it easier for commerce to develop inland. On April 6, 1886, after Granville [Graville, located in False Bay, was a sawmill, copper mine and loan warehouse distribution center at that time] was annexed by Vancouver, there were 1,000 residents and 600 lumberjacks in this area. The first citizens' meeting was held to designate Stanley as a public park. On June 13 of the same year, a fire broke out at noon, burning down more than 1,000 buildings in just 45 minutes. Vancouver, which had experienced disasters, was completely transformed. On May 23, 1887, Vancouver was connected to the railway and became the western terminus of the Pacific Railway, which also promoted the rapid development of Vancouver. In 1890, the Lion Gate Bridge across Burrard Bay was opened to traffic, making it more convenient for West Vancouver to travel to North Vancouver. In 1896, in order to celebrate the visit of Li Hongzhang, the Qing Dynasty ambassador to Vancouver, the Chinese in Vancouver specially built a beautiful archway, which is the site of today's Chinatown. In 1904, the Great Northern Railway Company of the United States connected Vancouver and Seattle, making business exchanges between the west coast of the United States and Vancouver more active.
Today, when we talk about Vancouver, we refer to the Greater Vancouver area, which includes many cities. The Greater Vancouver area and the Fraser Valley are collectively called the Lower Mainland, including Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond (Vancouver's famous Chinatown), New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Delta, Surrey, Langley, Fort Langley, Abbotsford, Maple Ridge, Mission, Chilliwack, Hope, etc. Today, Vancouver has become the industrial, commercial and financial center of British Columbia, Canada. With its vast inland forest resources, it has developed the wood processing industry. In recent years, the influx of new Asian immigrants has directly driven the positive development of industry and commerce. At the same time, Vancouver has cooperated with British Columbia to promote tourism in a planned way. Vancouver, with its British style and oriental atmosphere, has created a whirlwind in Taiwan. Vancouver is a must-go transit point for travelers from Taiwan to various parts of Canada, which has doubled the number of Chinese people traveling to Vancouver in recent years. Vancouver is the city with the largest port on the west coast of Canada. Vancouver Port is a natural deep-water port that does not freeze. Even in the coldest months of winter, the average temperature is above 0 degrees Celsius. Due to its unique geographical conditions, Vancouver Port is the largest port for handling bulk cargo on the west coast of North America. It has regular ocean-going ships with Asia, Oceania, Europe, and Latin America. Thousands of ships dock at the port every year, and the annual cargo throughput is about 100 million tons. Vancouver is also the third largest city after Toronto and Montreal, and the largest industrial, financial, technological and cultural center in western Canada. The Vancouver Public Library has a rich collection of books and has 20 branches. It is one of the largest libraries in Canada. The University of British Columbia (UBC) and Simon Fraser University are two famous institutions of higher learning in the city. In addition, the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and the University of British Columbia Museum of Humanity are also well-known cultural venues. There are many parks in Vancouver. There are more than 100 parks in the city, among which Stanley Park is the most famous natural park. Its Totem Poles, which symbolize the North American Indian culture, are an important landscape of Stanley Park. Dr. Sun, Yatsen Gardens, designed and built by 52 Chinese Suzhou craftsmen, is full of Chinese style. As one of the most livable cities in the world, in addition to the pleasant climate, beautiful city and beautiful natural environment, Vancouver also has various sports and entertainment venues, including world-class ski resorts. Whistler and Cypress are both the main venues of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the sea, with gurgling rivers interspersed in between, this is a natural and excellent geographical condition. Whether it is a mountain explorer or a water sports enthusiast, they can find an ideal place to explore here.
For night owls who are keen on urban nightlife, Vancouver's nightlife is extremely colorful, with first-class theaters, bars, dance halls, nightclubs, etc. For foodies, Vancouver is a paradise: as a typical immigrant city with a multicultural gathering, Vancouver's food is diverse, including North American, South American, European, Italian, French, Middle Eastern, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese... all kinds of flavors from all over the world are available, which can be described as a big salad made by mixing the East and the West. When you come to Vancouver, you can't help but blend into this colorful night. Vancouver has gathered a large number of Chinese immigrants, making Chinatown on Pender Street in the east of the city the largest Chinatown in Canada (more than a dozen blocks in length and breadth), and in the entire North American region, its scale is second only to Chinatown in San Francisco, USA. Chinatown is full of strong Hong Kong charm, Chinese can be seen everywhere, and Chinese products are dazzling. The place where Mr. Sun Yat-sen lived in the past is still preserved and has become a tourist attraction. But did you know that in the second half of the 19th century, a large number of Chinese workers participated in the construction of the Pacific Railway and died on the railway tracks. In the early 20th century, the Canadian government implemented the head tax law and the Chinese Exclusion Law that were intended to discriminate against the Chinese. Later, a raging fire of anti-Chinese sentiment destroyed Vancouver's Chinatown... In the past century, the Chinese have borne so much separation and blood and tears of humiliation. Until 2006, Prime Minister Harper personally apologized for the "shameful policies" of the past in Cantonese at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The entire Parliament Hall, including more than 200 head tax victims and their descendants, and leaders of the Chinese community stood up and applauded, and many people burst into tears. When the Chinese who are familiar with this history step into Chinatown and see the tall colorful Chinese gate archway, they always feel a sense of déjà vu in their hearts. The vicissitudes of the Chinese history of humiliation have been replicated in every corner of the earth in the past century.
*Ranking by population: 3
Whistler
Whistler Blackcomb is a major ski resort located 125 km north of Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. By many measures it is the largest ski resort in North America; it is 50% larger than its nearest competitor in terms of size, has the greatest uphill lift capacity, and until 2009, had the highest vertical skiable distance by a wide margin.
Whistler Blackcomb also features the Peak 2 Peak Gondola for moving between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains at the top; Peak 2 Peak holds records for the highest and longest unsupported cable car span in the world. With all of this capacity, Whistler Blackcomb is also often the most-visited ski resort, often besting 2 million visitors a year.
Whistler was originally conceived as part of a bid to win the 1968 Winter Olympics, but a series of events led to the bids being withdrawn or losing to other cities. Construction of the resort started in spite of this, and the resort first opened for business in January 1966. The resort expanded extensively in the 1980s and 90s, becoming the centrepiece of a renewed bid on the part of nearby Vancouver. Vancouver/Whistler was selected as the winning bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics in July 2003. Whistler Blackcomb hosted the alpine skiing events, including the men's and women's Olympic and Paralympic alpine skiing disciplines of downhill, Super-G, giant slalom, super combined and slalom. The Dave Murray downhill course towards Whistler Creekside finally hosted an Olympic downhill event, 50 years after it was originally surveyed for this purpose.
Whistler is located on British Columbia Highway 99, also known as the "Sea-to-Sky highway", approximately 58 kilometres north of Squamish, and 125 km from Vancouver. The highway connects Whistler to the British Columbia Interior via Pemberton-Mount Currie to Lillooet and connections beyond to the Trans-Canada and Cariboo Highways.
Over two million people visit Whistler annually, primarily for alpine skiing and snowboarding and, in summer, mountain biking at Whistler-Blackcomb. Its pedestrian village has won numerous design awards and Whistler has been voted among the top destinations in North America by major ski magazines since the mid-1990s. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Whistler hosted most of the alpine, Nordic, luge, skeleton, and bobsled events, though freestyle skiing and all snowboarding events were hosted at Cypress Mountain near Vancouver.
