Art and Chinese-Canadian History: The Gold Mountain
Art represents the history of a specific culture. In the Chinatown district of Calgary, the beautiful outdoor art embodies the Chinese-Canadian history and cultural themes. As a part of our long-term project of preserving Chinatown’s only green space, the monument “In Search of Gold Mountain” was completed by sculptor Chu Honsan in 1991. This five-tier stone sculpture chronicles the proud history of Chinese settlement in Canada.
Chinatown is the hub of the ancient history of the Chinese Canadian Culture which we seek to preserve. Join us in our quest to promote cultural diversity. Reach out to us to know more.
In Search of Gold Mountain
Not far from the railway workers’ plaque, there is a 2001 sidewalk mosaic, “Gold Mountain” at Pender and Columbia Streets near several 2010 recent murals depicting life in Chinatown in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Calgary’s 1999 conical mountain sculpture, “In Search of Gold Mountain”, is right by the bike path along the Bow River in Sien Lok Park. The relief figures are perhaps less representational and require the viewer to understand the historical events in order to interpret the sculpture’s imagery. The figures and railway iconography is reminiscent of a Canadian cuneiform on labour and celebration of spirit where the latter is evoked by a dragon dance snaking around the top of the sculpture’s peak.
