in 2001. From the late nineteenth century to the first decade of the twentieth century, it was the largest Chinese settlement in Canada. Victoria's Chinatown suffered a period of decline between the 1920s and the 1970s, shrinking dramatically both in size and in population. In the 1980s, significant revitalization efforts were undertaken, most notably the construction of the Gate of Harmonious Interest on Fisgard Street (at Government Street). Ongoing revitalization over the years has included the introduction of coffee shops, cafes, studios, and workshops, as well as a small condominium development in Dragon Alley. Today's Chinatown Victoria's revitalized Chinatown is a popular area for tourists as well as for the artistic community. The focus is the 500–600 block of Fisgard Street, including famously narrow Fan Tan Alley, the old Chinese School and a small selection of historic buildings and Chinese businesses. Many historic buildings have been well preserved in Chinatown and also in the larger area it once occupied along Government Street, Herald Street, Store Street, and Pandora Avenue. The modern Chinatown continues to be a key component of Downtown Victoria with its many tourist attractions, hotels, bars, restaurants, movie theaters, services, and shopping areas. The district was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1995. It was considered as potential addition to Canada's Tentative List of nominations to become a World Heritage Site, but has yet to be nominated. Some of the tourist attractions of Chinatown are the previously mentioned Fan Tan Alley (originally a private walkway, now home to offices and retail shops), and its ornate gate, The Gate of Harmonious Interest. The stone lions that are part of the gate were built in Suzhou (Soochow), one of Victoria's sister cities. Many of Chinatown's most historical and important places are out of public view, like the Tam Kung Chinese Temple, which is the oldest of its kind in Canada. See also Historical Chinatowns in Nanaimo Chinese Canadians in British Columbia History of Chinese immigration to Canada Chinese head tax in Canada Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration (1885) Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 Chinese Immigration Act, 1923 List of historic places in Victoria, British Columbia References Further reading Dunae, Patrick A., John S. Lutz, Donald J. Lafreniere, and Jason A. Gilliland. "Making the inscrutable, scrutable: race and space in Victoria's Chinatown, 1891." (Essay) BC Studies, Spring, 2011, Issue 169, p. 51. "Tradition in Felicities Celebrating 155 years of