In The Dragon's Shadow: The Vogue Streetscape, Landscape Architecture

LADR Landscape Architects

At first glance, the corner of Pandora Avenue and Government Street draws attention with its striking red dragon sculpture by Burnaby artist Ping Tsing. This bold, hand-carved symbol of prosperity marks the original entrance to Victoria’s Chinatown. What many passersby may not realize is that a powerful element of this public space lies beneath their feet. The paving tells an “unseen” story of cultural endurance and connection.

An undulating wave of coarse aggregate alludes to the Johnson Street Ravine, a natural divide once used to physically and socially separate Chinese immigrants from European colonists. At the residential entry, large concrete pavers symbolize the bridge that spanned that divide. These subtle gestures, often overlooked, speak volumes about the layered histories embedded in the urban landscape. Bamboo-inspired fencing and salvaged architectural fragments from buildings associated with exclusionary practices further root the site in memory. Together, these elements transform the space into a quiet map of resilience, inviting those who pause to read the ground.

Designed with support and guidance from then-City Councillor Charlayne Thornton-Joe and then-City Planner Mickey Lam in 2006.