Category: Experience Chinatown

The number of public spaces in a concentrated area like Chinatown attract Pokémon like no other neighbourhood.

Between Somerset and Bay and Somerset and Preston there are over 10 Pokéstops. Halfway down the street you’ll see the Chinatown arch – it’s a focal point for lures.

Sit down on a bench or in a nearby restaurant, enjoy some food and drink and drop a lure on your nearest Pokéstop to attract more Pokémon.

You’ve gotta catch them all!

What is your zodiac? Do you know?

The Chinese Zodiac is based on a twelve-year cycle, each year in that cycle related to an animal sign. It is popular in several East Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan.

In Chinatown, these zodiacs are imbedded into the sidewalks. Come and find them and learn about what your zodiac means.

	1924 1936 1948 1960	1972 1984 1996 2008
	1925 1937 1949 1961	1973 1985 1997 2009
	1926 1938 1950 1962	1974 1986 1998 2010
	1927 1939 1951 1963	1975 1987 1999 2011
	1928 1940 1952 1964	1976 1988 2000 2012
	1929 1941 1953 1965	1977 1989 2001 2013
	1930 1942 1954 1966	1978 1990 2002 2014
	1931 1943 1955 1967	1979 1991 2003 2015
	1932 1944 1956 1968	1980 1992 2004 2016
	1933 1945 1957 1969	1981 1993 2005 2017
	1934 1946 1958 1970	1982 1994 2006 2018
	1935 1947 1959 1971	1983 1995 2007 2019

Learn one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world by taking a Chinese painting class in Chinatown. Chinese painting and calligraphy distinguish themselves from other cultures’ arts by emphasis on motion and change with dynamic life. It is believed that by practicing them helps one to maintain mindfulness and maintain calmness in life.

Several Asian grocery and BBQ stores offer fresh ingredients and sauces  – everything you need to make an exotic homemade meal.

Luck, Abundance, Longevity, Happiness and Good Fortune are known to be the basic and modest wishes in the lives of ordinary people in Chinese culture. These five characters in calligraphy are an artistic expression of the blessings received by those who touch them.

Canada – the adopted home for many immigrants – is a country where abundance, luck, happiness, wealth, and stability abound and with which many of us are blessed. We wish for all Canadians to embrace and enjoy Luck, Abundance, Longevity, Happiness, and Good Fortune forever.

Find the signs under the Chinatown Gateway on Somerset Street West. Share your photos, use the hashtag #chinatownottawa

Chinatown murals

Strolling across Chinatown, you’ll notice bright pops of colour on windows, doors and walls. The China Doll mural paying homage to our local karaoke queen, a multicoloured panda made up of a mosaic of tiny pandas, a giant orange goldfish floating next to a horse and a turtle of the same size. Some of the murals are part of a public art project – a partnership between the Ottawa Chinatown BIA and the Ottawa School of Art – called “Chinatown Blossoms.”

Centrally located at the on Somerset Street West and Cambridge Street, our Imperial style arch welcomes everyone to Chinatown.

There are plenty of places to sit down and enjoy Chinatown.  Browse our businesses and decide where to go next!