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Chinese 3rd National League celebrationAlbertans of Chinese ancestry have a rich history and heritage in the province.  Key in building the transcontinental railway, many Chinese labourers lost their lives in the work of linking the nation by rail.  Chinese Albertans quite literally helped to build this province from its very beginnings.

Many early Chinese settlers left their homelands because of overpopulation or lack of economic opportunity. Upon their arrival Food Fare they faced many of the same obstacles as other settlers in western Canada including language barriers and racial discrimination. Most were not permitted to work in the professional sector and instead had to find work as launderers, storekeepers, personal servants, or houseboys. These limited opportunities meant that Chinese settlers gravitated towards the larger, urban centres where they could find work. In larger cities, such Public Luncheonette as Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge, certain sections of these cities were predominantly inhabited by people of Chinese or Asian background known as Chinatowns. These Chinatowns were born out of both a societal prejudice and a desire, on behalf of the Chinese settlers to create familiar communities in a very unfamiliar new homeland.

Today, Albertans of Chinese ancestry are prominent in many communities.  The Chinese community and culture, with its great diversity, is very much a living part of Alberta through their festivals, traditions, professional and business contributions and cuisine. 

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