With help from a $20,000 B.C. government grant, a cultural exhibit capturing the experience of Chinese immigrants during the Cariboo Gold Rush will begin an international tour with a stop in Vancouver, announced Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Bill Bennett and Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson today.

During Premier Christy Clark's BC Jobs and Trade Mission to Asia in 2011, officials from the Guangdong Museum of Overseas Chinese in Guangzhou and Barkerville Historic Town created an opportunity for the exhibit to tour China in 2013. In December 2012, through mid-January 2013, the exhibit will be on public display at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver, before going on to China.

Barkerville's Travelling Exhibit to China brings together photographs and archives reflecting the contributions of Chinese people, from Guangdong Province particularly, to Barkerville during the gold rush 150 years ago. Barkerville's Chinatown, Chinese cemetery and extensive collection of documents and photographs now comprise the largest collection of Chinese buildings and artifacts in North America.

The exhibit tour will strengthen growing cultural ties between British Columbia and China by honouring the legacy of B.C.'s early Chinese settlers. Provided through the B.C. government's Arts Legacy Fund, the $20,000 grant will support the exhibit's unique technological aspect. The exhibit provides software that will enable people in China to input information about their family connections to Barkerville and the Cariboo during the 19th century.

Quotes:

Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Bill Bennett

"By supporting Barkerville's Travelling Exhibit to China, we are celebrating the important cultural and economic role played by Chinese immigrants in the history of British Columbia. Today, Chinese Canadians continue to make key contributions to the development and success of our province - through business, commerce, the professions and the arts."

Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations Minister Steve Thomson -

"B.C.'s heritage sites bring thousands of visitors annually to all regions of the province. Barkerville is one of B.C.'s largest and most popular historic destinations and this exhibit will provide people in both China and B.C. a visual experience of Barkerville and its connection to early Chinese settlers."

Quick Facts:

• Again this year, the B.C. government is providing over $53 million in stable funding for arts and culture organizations, as well as individual artists, in communities throughout British Columbia.
• Since 2001, the B.C. government has provided more than $2.6 billion in support for arts and culture in British Columbia, including the screen-based entertainment industry.
• Since 2009, government has committed more than $39 million to preserve, protect and manage our provincially owned heritage properties - despite difficult economic times.
• Every year, over 200,000 people visit 11 heritage property sites open to the public in the Cariboo, Kootenay, Vancouver Island, Okanagan and Upper Fraser Valley.
• The Barkerville, Fort Steele and Fraser Valley heritage properties alone contribute $32.2 million to the province's GDP, creating more than 625 full-time jobs and raising more than $14 million in taxes for all levels of government.

Learn More:

Check out the provincial government's role in supporting sport, arts and culture through the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development at: http://www.gov.bc.ca/cscd

Visit the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations online at: http://www.gov.bc.ca/for/

Learn about Barkerville Historic Town at: http://www.barkerville.ca/

Contact:

Matt Gordon
Communications Director
Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development
250 953-3677