The Chee Kung Tong Building, the oldest surviving ethnic Chinese building in Canada, was officially recognized as a Canadian national historic site in a plaque-unveiling ceremony on Saturday.

The simple two-storey building is located in Barkerville, a gold rush town in the western province of British Columbia.

It was built in the mid-1870s by Chee Kung Tong, a secret fraternal society, as a social gathering place for Chinese laborers, who came to the British Columbia during the 19th century to seek fortune by mining or working on railroad construction.

Lily Chow, who played a big role in gaining the designation from the federal government, said at the ceremony that the Chee Kung Tong, also known as the Chinese Freemasons Society, "had been a benevolent, charitable and patriotic organization. It had attempted to retain and foster the Chinese culture, traditions and beliefs."

On behalf of the federal government, Member of Parliament Richard Harris unveiled a Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque commemorating the Chee Kung Tong Building as a site of national historic significance.

Harris said the commemoration will help Canadians "appreciate and understand this important chapter in Canadians' history. It recognizes the important contributions the Chee Kung Tong Building made to the life of early Chinese immigrants."

The ceremony was attended by some 200 Chinese Canadians.

Liang Shugeng, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Vancouver, said that "the building has profound sentimental significance" to those who share the same Chinese ancestor and cultural background.

He believed that the building, a monument to the late Chinese workers and a symbol of friendship for the future generations, would help promote the Chinese culture and heritage in Canada.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2009)