Learn Chinese:
Chinese Cultural Summer Camp
America West hosts a 1-week Chinese Cultural Camp each August for elementary school kids. Held at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School (home of Vancouver's Mandarin Immersion Program), the camp features local and guest Chinese teachers from Taiwan who teach a range of activities from arts & crafts, Chinese yo-yo, kung fu, to Chinese folk dances.
Mandarin Immersion Elementary School
Treat your kids to the full meal deal by enrolling them in the Mandarin Immersion Program at Franklin Elementary School, just north of downtown Vancouver. Publicly funded through Vancouver Public Schools, the program kicks off with all-day kindergarten taught 90% in Chinese and gradually transitions to 50-50 English and Chinese by the 5th grade. (The kids need English, too!)
This program has a limited number of spots available each year, so be sure to attend one of the parent orientation programs in March or April of each year.
- Vancouver Public Schools' Mandarin Immersion website
- News article about the program
- News article about Chinese New Year Celebration
Chinese as a Second Language in high school
Are your kids older? No need to worry, Mountain View and Union High Schools in East Vancouver now offer Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language option. Students can also take part in the Chinese Culture Club at school.Weekend Chinese Classes
America West Vancouver Chinese School was founded with its primary mission dedicated to educating students in speaking, reading and writing the Chinese language. AWVCS typically offers at least seven years of formal progressive Chinese education from learning Chinese phonics to Level 6 for students ages 5-18.
America West welcomes students of all heritages to join us in learning the Chinese Language. Classes are held Sunday afternoons at Hanna Hall in Clark College every Sunday afternoon during the regular school year. Parents and students are welcome to come visit the classes.
Celebrate Chinese New Year
- Vancouver Chinese Association Celebration Gala - Enjoy dinner with biggest gathering of Chinese-Americans in SW Washingon, followed by an evening of traditional Chinese performances with singers, dancers, and martial arts demonstrations.
- Fort Vancouver Public Library - Chinese dancers, lion dance, musical performances, and martial arts demonstration. Put on by the Friends of the Library.
- Mandarin Immersion Program at Franklin Elementary School - Elementary school kids put on their own performances.
- Portland Convention Center
Places to Visit:
Classical Chinese Gardens
Just across the river from Vancouver is Portland's Lan Su Chinese Garden. The garden was built by Chinese artisans from Portland's sister city Suzhou in China and completed in September 2000. The Chinese Garden is a wonderful place to enjoy tranquility and solitude amidst the hustle of the city.
Kam Wah Chung Museum
A long drive out to Central Oregon, but totally worth it. Did you know Oregon States Parks has a museum and state heritage site dedicated to 2 Chinese dudes from the 1800's? Not only that, but these 2 immigrants from Southern China co-owned one of the first successful cross-cultural Asian-American businesses in the country (a combination general store and medical clinic that served Chinese and Whites alike), opened the first car dealership in Central Oregon, and bailed out Wasco County during the worst of the Great Depression. Oregon proudly claims them as their own!
History of Chinese in the Area
- Timeline of Chinese & Asian-Americans in Washington State & Beyond - Did you know the first recorded Chinese to arrive in the Pacific Northwest was in 1789?