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All Canada British Columbia Victoria Fan Tan Alley

Fan Tan Alley

The narrowest street in Canada was once a spot for dastardly doings, now a historic piece of Chinatown.

Victoria, British Columbia

Added By
Brendan Kergin
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Looking in from the Pandora St. entrance.   Brendan Kergin
The wider, interior area used for shopping.   Brendan Kergin
  BlueEyedGirl / Atlas Obscura User
  sophiestjacques / Atlas Obscura User
  sophiestjacques / Atlas Obscura User
  staceykenny11 / Atlas Obscura User
French Bulldog guarding door entrance in Fan tan Alley   Philippe 1 / Atlas Obscura User
French Bulldog guarding door entrance in Fan tan Alley   Philippe 1 / Atlas Obscura User
  linny105 / Atlas Obscura User
Jim Wong-Chu poetry in Fan Tan Alley   len not Lenny / Atlas Obscura User
Red Doors in Fan Tan Alley   len not Lenny / Atlas Obscura User
  BlueEyedGirl / Atlas Obscura User
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Fan Tan Alley holds the record for narrowest street in Canada and is a central piece to Canada's oldest Chinatown.

Just 0.9m wide (about 4 feet) at the narrowest point, it is filled with boutiques and shops selling clothes, jewelry, music, shoes and other items to locals and tourists. But Fan Tan Alley wasn't always the kind of place where you would want go browsing for trinkets.

With British Columbia's gold rushes in the late 1850s many immigrants moved north, among them many Chinese men. In Victoria they created a community next to the downtown area.

The alley used to be a popular place for a variety of less-than-legal activities, with gambling and opium dens common in its early days. As the Chinese population was a huge portion of the town's general population, the alley stayed a center for the Chinese community until the 1920s, when the population began to spread throughout the city and decline.

Fan Tan Alley now draws visitors for a variety of reasons, as it has been featured in films (such as 1990's Bird on a Wire) and children's books, is a national record holder, is a vibrant shopping area and is a part of Victoria's popular Chinatown area.

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Architectural Oddities Outsider Architecture Architecture

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Connects Fisgard St. and Pandora Ave. between Government St. and Store St.

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Kergin

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feelfreetoblameme, len not Lenny, linny105, staceykenny11...

  • feelfreetoblameme
  • len not Lenny
  • linny105
  • staceykenny11
  • Philippe 1
  • sophiestjacques
  • BlueEyedGirl
  • TheGarv

Published

May 24, 2012

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  • https://goo.gl/maps/r3KRKgQBQQ92
Fan Tan Alley
535 Fisgard St
Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 1R4
Canada
48.42928, -123.368306
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Photo of Victoria

Victoria

British Columbia

Places 15
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Miniature World

Victoria, British Columbia

miles away

The Empress Hotel

Victoria, British Columbia

miles away

Pterosaur Jaw Bone

Victoria, British Columbia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Victoria

Victoria

British Columbia

Places 15
Stories 1

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