Chinese Heritage Cemetery - Kamloops, BC
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T0SHEA
N 50° 40.696 W 120° 21.565
10U E 686554 N 5617374
The Kamloops Chinese Cemetery is at least 150 years old and is still being maintained by the Chinese community.
Waymark Code: WMMHNC
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 09/23/2014
Views: 3
Within the cemetery is a Chinese pagoda styled gazebo, within which are several informational signs telling us of aspects of the Chinese community, the cemetery, and individuals who are buried here.
The cemetery was begun in the 1860s, with the first interments being those of Chinese miners who died in the Kamloops area. Later, when the CPR's transcontinental line was being built through this area in the mid 1880s, thousands of Chinese railroad workers lived in the area, many drifting elsewhere after the completion of the railway. Many, however, remained in the area and are the ancestors of much of the present Chinese community in Kamloops. Every year the Ching Ming Festival is still performed out of respect for those buried in this cemetery.
The cemetery itself is now a British Columbia Heritage Site.
Chinese Heritage Cemetery
Past
in 1887 a Kamloops Sentinel newepaper reporter stumbled onto a Chinese grave site which is now known as the Kamloops Chinese Heritage Cemetery. It dates back to approximately the 1860s.
Present
Deterioration due to age has made it necessary to replace some structures in the Chinese Heritage Cemetery in order for it to retain its function for the Chinese community. Groups involved in its restoration have attempted to follow the original design of the cemetery as closely as possible. New structures have been added to enhance the site.
From the sign
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