Chinese pop music's 'deeply local' Canadian story shines in Vancouver exhibition

Chuck Chiang · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 31, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

A caller accumulation connected Cantopop and Mandopop euphony successful Vancouver is simply a Canadian story, says curator Melissa Karmen Lee.

The Dream Factory exhibit, which opened connected May 28 at the Chinese Canadian Museum, pays tribute to the aureate property of Chinese popular euphony "through the lens of Chinese Canadian identity, migration and memory."

Its stories are thing but foreign, said Lee, who is besides the museum's main executive.

"It is simply a profoundly section communicative astir however galore of these Cantopop stars [and] Mandopop stars made Vancouver their home. They lived here, they worked here, they grew up here," she said.

"They each profoundly considered Canada a portion of their identity, and we're truthful pleased to diagnostic that successful this exhibition."

Cantopop and Mandopop notation to Chinese-language popular euphony successful the 2 astir wide spoken tongues successful the community, Cantonese and Mandarin.

The exhibit, moving done May 2026, features a postulation of euphony from the genres betwixt 1980 and 2000, erstwhile stars specified arsenic Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui wowed fans globally.

But Lee said galore extracurricular the assemblage didn't recognize that specified elephantine stars were surviving among them successful Canada.

Lee pointed retired that Cheung — a vocalist and histrion who became known to Western audiences by starring successful movies including Farewell My Concubine and Happy Together — lived successful Vancouver successful the aboriginal 1990s.

A parkland seat that honours Cheung successful the city's Stanley Park is simply a pilgrimage tract for fans of the star, who died by termination successful 2003.

Lee said vocalist and histrion Sally Yeh grew up successful Victoria earlier reaching stardom.

The Cantopop and Mandopop genres are intrinsically connected to Canada's ample Chinese communities, particularly successful neighbourhoods successful Metro Vancouver and Toronto wherever their songs were ubiquitous astatine Chinese malls, restaurants and karaoke bars.

Vancouver autochthonal Stephanie Kong, who designed a wedding formal astatine the grounds that was inspired by Mui's 2003 farewell performance, said Cantopop euphony saturated galore of her puerility memories.

"Growing up present successful Canada, that was decidedly a portion of my childhood," Kong said. "Going to Parker Place [a promenade successful Richmond, B.C.] and waiting portion my parents were successful those euphony stores buying LaserDiscs, and I would beryllium like, 'What's taking truthful long?' 

"Because I didn't rather recognize it … So it's comic that it comes benignant of afloat circle, coming arsenic an big and getting a caller appreciation for what I've ever benignant of — for the deficiency of a amended connection — conscionable dismissed erstwhile I was a kid."

In summation to costumes inspired by Cantopop and Mandopop successful the exhibition's main room, there's a ample surface blaring deed songs, a abstracted country featuring artwork utilizing LaserDiscs, a signifier acceptable up for karaoke and listening stations for fashionable songs.

On 1 wall, archetypal expanse euphony for celebrated Cantonese movies from Hong Kong composer Joseph Koo are displayed. Koo lived successful Richmond earlier his decease successful 2023.

'A preservation of culture'

Lee said Cantopop civilization seeped heavy into galore parts of Canada. She said Cheung's 1986 opus Monica was anecdotally regarded arsenic liable for a ample fig of Chinese Canadian girls bearing the name.

"They listened to Cantopop successful Vancouver, successful Toronto," Lee said of migrant waves to Canada. "They made this precise Asian euphony portion of this planetary Chinese diaspora community.

"So, portion of the popularity of Cantopop and Mandopop crossed the globe was due to the fact that of these overseas Chinese communities that made it truly great.

"Immigrants that came successful the '60s and the '70s, they brought implicit their ain civilization and … made it a uniquely Canadian experience. And so, it's a preservation of culture, but it's besides an improvement of thing that is Asian into Asian Canadian."