Barkerville has been recognized from across the Pacific Ocean as an important education facility.
The National Historic Site was included when officials from Wuyi University in China came to forge formal relationships with this area's higher learning facilities.
Wuyi University is based in the city of Jiangmen, in the province of Guangdong. It is part of an urban hub for that region of Asia, at the centre of a transportation and population network on the Pacific coast. It is also the primary mainland connection for the distinct communities of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
Jiangmen is also Prince George's twin city in China, a relationship that has been gaining strength over the past five years or so. Barkerville has been a key partner on the Prince George side of the partnership.
"This twinning is of tremendous significance for Barkerville," said John Massier, chair of the Barkerville Heritage Trust. "Wuyi University is in the heart of the district in China that was home to most of the Chinese population that came to Barkerville during gold rush times. They came as miners and they came in support roles selling goods and services. That influence is unmistakable when you come see Barkerville. Guangdong province played a major role in the history of Central B.C."
Wuyi's chancellor Wang Ke agreed that the historic links were important in the formation of future links.
"Jiangmen is home to many overseas Chinese. We are proud of the historic connections with
Canada, especially with British Columbia," she said. "Most of the early Chinese immigrants who took part in mining and in building of Canada's great railway came from the Jiangmen region. Through our partnerships with the University of Northern British Columbia and Barkerville Heritage Trust, we look forward to strengthening our longtime relations, and building closer and deeper ties for the new generations of our two great countries."
Barkerville officials have gone to Guangdong since 2009 in their efforts to identify the scores of Chinese faces staring out from gold rush-era photographs taken by C.D. Hoy and other photographers of that period. Both Barkerville officials and Wuyi University officials hope some of the faces will be recognized by the modern generations related to these early Chinese-Canadians.
The two entities are also smiling at each other over the possibilities within the preserved buildings and archived data in the Chinatown section of the ghost town. It is an exciting tourism opportunity, but also an educational one.
"We have the collections, the archives, the artifacts, the buildings, and they have the students and the education programs and the historic connections - connections we all share with Barkerville," said Massier. "The information about the photos that is collected as the exhibit travels through the 'home towns' of the Chinese immigrants will increase understanding on both sides of the Pacific of the lives of these heroic sojourners. By deepening our relationship with Wuyi University we are
building bridges between cultures and linking our past to our future."
