Showcasing Vancouver

http://www.canadarentals.net/city-view.cfm?CityID=2

I'm afraid I have very few pictures of Vancouver cityscape despite a number of visits there over the years. Therefore I borrowed this one and gave the site above.

I chose Vancouver as the first Canadian city I'd showcase because recently a very rare phenomena has been occuring there.. and that would be snow.


http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=a56154b8-228f-453a-b90c-9d05bdc4e611

Now the majority of British Columbia and the majority of Canada for that matter is well acquainted with snow. Vancouver however is ill-equipped to deal with snow when it has it, which is infrequently. Instead they mostly get rain. The problem with not having snow often is that people do not know how to properly remove it, drive in it, etc. There can be a lot of accidents. The roads don't get cleared fast enough for the traffic volume because the city does not have enough snow removal equipment at its disposal.

In the light of the large snowfall in Vancouver this year the rest of BC welcomes Vancouver to their ranks. Finally Vancouver has snow! Now you know what almost every other town deals with all winter every year!

But this entry is not really about snow or the rest of BC. It is about Vancouver so let's do this properly.

Vancouver has a population approaching 600,000 making it the largest city in British Columbia. (And third largest in Canada.) It is located on the West Coast of Canada roughly above Seattle, Washington (USA). Vancouver gets an average percipitation of 1,219 mm per year. That's 48 inches! Average temperatures for January are 3 degrees Celsius (37 F) and for July about 18 degrees Celsius (64 F).

Vancouver is a major Canadian port and supports a lot of industry. Fishing, mining, forestry, computer software and biotechnology are just a few industries flourishing in the city. In recent years Vancouver has become like Canada's little Hollywood. It is a hub for the film industry. Tourism is a major industry as well.

Vancouver will also be the site for the 2010 Winter Olympics!



Vancouver was a site of First nations villages as early as 500 BCE and Captain Vancouver landed there in 1792. Vancouver was initially named Granville and was a sawmill community in the 1870s. Granville was renamed for Captain Vancouver in 1886 when it was incorporated.

Vancouver is a diverse city that attracts people from all over the world to come live there. Because of its location on the Western Coast it attracts a lot of immigrants from Asian countries in particular.


http://govancouver.about.com/od/chinatown/ig/Chinatown--Vancouver--BC/Chinese-New-Year-Vancouver-BC.htm

Events worth seeing include: the Chinese New Year Festival (January 26th this year!),International Bhangra Celebration (last weekend of January), Chutzpah Festival (the week of Hannukah), Vancouver International Children's Festival (last weekend of August), and the Annual Symphony Free Concert (First Sunday of November).

Tourist attractions that are of interest include: the Vancouver aquarium, the Steam Clock in Gas Town, Grouse Mountain, Whistler Ski Village, Capilano Suspension Bridge, Science World, Burnaby Village Museum and Minter Gardens. It also is worthwhile to take cruise or rent a boat. You never know what sea life you might spot!