'Like living back in my hometown:' Chinese immigrant immersed in Markham
46 per cent of Markham ethnically Chinese in 2016 census, up from 39 per cent in 2011

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 6, 2019
Tim Kelly

If the changing face of Markham had a successful image it would probably look an awful lot like Dr. Ching x. Zhu.

A practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and acupuncture with Meng River TCM clinics in Markham and Richmond Hill, Zhu has lived in Markham for the past nine years after relocating from New Brunswick.

Originally from Shanghai, China, Zhu, 48, came to Canada 11 years ago and said he loves the country.

One of the reasons he moved to Markham was because of the excellent schools here, he said.

And it didn’t hurt that nearly half the population of York Region’s largest city identifies as ethnically Chinese, according to statistics from the 2016 census.

Of Markham’s population of 328,965 in 2016, 152,090 identified as Chinese, which makes up 46 per cent of Markham’s total.

That was far ahead of the second-ranked group, described in the census as East Indian, at 10 per cent, 33,070 people.

And the Chinese population grew by a large number in just five years in Markham, expanding by nearly 34,000 people and seven per cent of Markham’s total, going from 39 per cent of the city’s make-up to 46 per cent.

It’s no wonder Zhu feels at home in Markham.

“There are good Chinese restaurants here. I can go to the supermarket and buy lots of food from China, food that’s exported from China. It’s like living back in my hometown,” said Zhu.

“I can speak my own language. For my kids, they can speak Mandarin."

He added he also picked Markham to move to for the high-quality education his eldest daughter was able to receive at Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School.

“Chinese families are very serious for education. Every year they have a high school rank. I also chose Markham for the next generation,” Zhu said.

His oldest daughter went to the University of Toronto where she majored in mathematics and science and is now an investment banker for the CIBC in Toronto.

“Here, there is less stress than in China,” Zhu said.

“My daughter is comfortable here (in Canada).”

For those newcomers who need more help than Zhu, there are always the two Markham Welcome Centres where they can go to for assistance.

Alfred Tam is the manager of the Markham South Welcome Centre, at 7220 Kennedy Rd., Unit 8.

He said Chinese clients are a “huge part of our clientele, and English classes are a big part of the services we offer.”

Tam said newcomers are also looking for settlement services, workshops, one-on-one counselling sessions and applications for government services.

Tam added the centre also serves some Tamil clients, as well as those who speak Urdu and Punjabi.

“In the client surveys that we do, we find the services that we offer are the things that newcomers tell us that they need the most,” he said.