Mon Keang School National Historic Site
© Charlotte Hung
Mon Keang School was designated as a national historic site in 2023.
Commemorative plaque: no plaque installedFootnote 1
Mon Keang School
Mon Keang School was founded in 1923 and opened in 1925 in Vancouver, British Columbia, by the Wong Kung Har Tong (now the Wongs’ Benevolent Association). The school offered Chinese-language education to children and youth in Vancouver’s Chinese community, with instruction in Cantonese and other Chinese cultural subjects. In this way, it helped create a cultural link with China during a period when Chinese people in Canada faced considerable racism, and when immigration from China was severely restricted. The school illustrates the Chinese Canadian cultural tradition of language schooling, and it was the first Chinese-language school in Canada to offer a high school division. Almost continuously in use since its founding, the school has retained original elements such as the layout, doors, and windows. Its location on the top two floors of the Wongs’ Benevolent Association building, in the heart of Vancouver’s Chinatown, speaks to the importance of Chinese associations in providing educational and social services to Chinese Canadians.
© City of Vancouver
© Wikipedia Creative Commons
© Charlotte Hung
Chinese Canadians placed a high value on education and cultural retention, even though the Chinese community in Canada before the Second World War was mostly male and included few families with children. Mon Keang School was founded in 1923, during a period of intense anti-Chinese racism, and in the same year that Canada passed legislation to exclude immigration from China. It was one of several Chinese-language schools located in Vancouver’s Chinatown in the early 20th century. These schools provided students with Chinese-language education in case they moved to China, and so they could work in trans-Pacific businesses and Canadian Chinatowns.
“Mon Keang Language School, in the heart of Vancouver's vibrant Chinatown, has been honoured with a national historic site designation by the Government of Canada, recognizing its significant cultural and educational contributions. This designation celebrates the school's role in preserving and promoting the Cantonese dialect and traditional practices of the Chinese diasporic community, a testament to Canada's rich multicultural heritage. It stands as a cherished landmark, reminding us of the resilience and history of the Chinese community in Vancouver and across Canada, from the time of the Exclusion Act when it was founded in 1923, to today as a cultural institution and leader.”
In 1920, the Wong Kung Har Tong purchased a building at 121-125 East Pender Street and added two new floors. The third (top) floor includes a bright and spacious assembly hall, and the building features intricate stained-glass windows above entryways and in skylights. When it opened in 1925, Mon Keang School had two classrooms on the top floor and welcomed children from all families, not just members of the Wong or Huang families. School events, such as assemblies, graduations, and award ceremonies took place in the assembly hall and students paid their fees at the adjacent office room. The school hired qualified teachers from China who were required to apply for an exemption to the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 to enter Canada, until this exclusionary legislation was repealed in 1947. Mon Keang School was overseen by Chinese educational authorities to ensure that the school met certain standards and provided a transferable education. During the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), Mon Keang School, like other Chinese Canadian organizations, sent financial aid to China. In 1939, the Wong Kung Har Tong founded the Hon Hsing Athletic Club to raise funds for China.
Initially a primary school on the top floor of the building, the school expanded in 1947 to accommodate a growing student population. The second storey was converted from a restaurant into five well-lit classrooms with high ceilings, a library, washrooms, and a central recreation area. That year, Mon Keang School was the first Chinese-language school in Canada to open a high school division, offering a grade 10 diploma that was recognized in China. Students learned Cantonese, calligraphy, poetry, math, history, science, and English. There were opportunities for students in the school to engage in sports, music, and other extracurricular activities. Mon Keang School closed in 2011 and, since 2016, it has provided space for the Youth Collaborative for Chinatown to offer a Cantonese Saturday School.
This press backgrounder was prepared at the time of the Ministerial announcement in 2024.
The National Program of Historical Commemoration relies on the participation of Canadians in the identification of places, events and persons of national historic significance. Any member of the public can nominate a topic for consideration by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
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