What are the living environment and living conditions like in Richmond, Vancouver, Canada?

Richmond is a city created by estuary alluvial and artificial reclamation. The terrain is flat. It is located on the west coast of Canada and is one of the most important cities in the Greater Vancouver area. Vancouver is known as one of the most livable environments in the world.

Although Richmond is not the city with the largest Chinese population in Greater Vancouver, it is the city with the highest proportion of Chinese residents and is the only city in North America with a Chinese population exceeding 40%.

There are various Chinese restaurants in the city center. Chinese shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, etc., are everywhere with Chinese character signs on both sides of the streets in downtown Richmond, making visitors feel as if they are somewhere in China.

There are also Guanyin Temple and other temples. Richmond is a city with relatively developed agriculture, rich in blueberries, cherries, blackberries, and raspberries. Famous movie stars Nicholas Tse and Edison Chen grew up in Richmond.

Richmond City Demographic Information

Richmond’s population of people of color accounts for 59% of the city’s population, the second highest proportion in Canada. More than half of the city's population belongs to Asians, most of whom are immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China who immigrated to Canada in the 1990s. Other Asians living in Richmond come from countries such as India, the Philippines and Japan.

The Japanese had settled in Steveston in southern Richmond as early as the 19th century. However, after the Pearl Harbor incident in 1942, the Japanese residents of this community, along with other Japanese Canadians, were deported to BC. Concentration camps in mainland China and Alberta, and their properties were confiscated and then sold during World War II, causing the Steveston community to become unrecognizable after the war.

According to data analysis by Statistics Canada, residents of Richmond have the longest life expectancy in Canada, reaching 83.4 years; they also have the lowest rates of obesity and smoking in Canada.