About the Project

關於計劃

Opened in 1984 in Agincourt, Dragon Centre is North America’s first indoor Chinese mall. It quickly became a commercial and cultural hub for the Chinese-Canadian community and helped kick start the development of suburban Chinese malls in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). It also became a catalyst for racial tension brought about as existing Agincourt residents adjusted to changing demographic realities.

As the mall winds down after 35 years, it is remembered by an entire generation of people who came from all over the GTA to eat, shop, and connect. The Dragon Centre Stories Commemoration Project seeks to gather memories of the mall through community storytelling and documentation.

慶龍中心於1984年在愛靜閣開業，是北美第一家室內中國商場。它迅速成為中加社區的商業和文化中心，並幫助帶動了大多倫多地區其他的中國商場的發展。隨著現有愛靜閣居民逐漸適應不斷變化的人口現實，慶龍中心也成為緩解種族緊張的催化劑。

隨著商場在35年後的逐漸結業，大多倫多地區整整一代人會記住這個吃飯，購物，交流的地方。慶龍中心故事紀念項目旨在通過社區故事和文檔紀錄來收集人們對商場的記憶。

The Commemoration

紀念活動

We hosted a commemoration ceremony at the mall on Oct 5 2019. Over 100 people came to remember and honour the mall and its place in Scarborough’s history. Setting up inside the former Lam Shing Trading supermarket space, our event featured:

• Poster board displays of the history and timeline of the Dragon Centre 
• Artifacts from the early days of the mall including one of the early ads 
• Welcome speeches from Shiu Pong (owners of the mall) and Councillor Cynthia Lai
• Guided walking tours of the mall to discuss and remember what happened
• Story sharing circle

The event also generated lots of local press coverage – see the links below to read more! 

A report of the day will also be posted soon. Sign up to our mailing list to be kept in the loop!

我們在2019年10月5日舉辦了一個關於慶龍中心的紀念活動，吸引逾一百人參加；這活動的意義不只在紀念慶龍中心，更是讓Scarborough地區的華人集體懷緬昔日點滴的機會。活動於前身為《林成號》的空置店面進行，內容包括

• 展示有關於慶龍中心歷史時序的海報展板
• 慶龍中心發展初期開始遺下的物品，例如廣告
• 邀請商場老闆 Shiu Pong 以及黎議員 Cynthia Lai 致歡迎辭
• 商場導賞團，邊看邊回憶大家在慶龍的點滴
• 故事分享小組

活動得到不少本地媒體報導，如有興趣可從以下連結細閱相關報導；你亦可以電郵註冊訂閱通訊，以得到更新通知。

Who We Are

關於我們

Dragon Centre Stories is a collaboration of community stakeholders interested and dedicated to the ongoing history of the Dragon Centre and “Scarborough Chinatown”. Partner organizations that are part of this initiative include ThinkFresh Group, ERA Architects, and Myseum of Toronto. This initiative is also supported by many dedicated community volunteers who are interested in preserving this history for future generations.

We are documenting this history through stories contributed by the community.  This is our way of bringing this history to life via lived experiences of people who came to the mall. As this mall was a major meeting place for the Chinese-Canadian community in its heyday, these stories also document a slice of what life was like at that time. 

All stories are shared voluntarily. Stories may be shared with us via any means – written, spoken, visually drawn or even performed. We will always ask your permission first before we post any stories on the website.

If you do have a story to share, or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out: share@dragoncentrestories.ca

《慶龍中心故事》由一群熱愛Scarborough地區並有意保留和延續慶龍中心與一切有關於「Scarborough唐人街」事跡的社區人士組成，合作機構包括有：ThinkFresh Group、ERA Architects、和Myseum of Toronto。該計劃也得到了許多熱心的社區志願者的支持，他們認為需要為後代保留這一段歷史。

我們主要依賴社區人士分享他們的小故事以紀錄和拼湊出這一段歷史。由於慶龍中心在全盛時期曾是在加拿大的華人社區的一個聚腳點，所以紀錄慶龍中心的故事不只是重現了商場的歷史，同時也紀錄了當年華人社區的生活。

所有故事的分享都是自願的，我們歡迎任何形式的分享，例如文字、口述、圖像、又或是任何其他的演譯方式等等。如果你有任何問題，又或是有屬於你的故事想與我們分享，歡迎電郵至 share@dragoncentrestories.ca 與我們聯絡