Vancouver's location on the Pacific coast and as the western terminus of the transcontinental highway and railroad has made the city one of the country's major industrial centers. The Port of Vancouver does $43 billion in trade annually with 90 countries around the world. The Vancouver area is also home to a number of forestry and mining companies, and its software development, biotechnology and film industries are thriving.
Vancouver's popularity comes at a price. Vancouver has some of the most expensive homes in the country and was ranked No. 2 in the world in 2013.
Vancouver is a major distribution center for agricultural, forestry and mineral products in Western Canada. A natural harbor, unfrozen in winter, the outer port of English Bay is open, the inner port of Ballard's Bay is narrow at the mouth and wide at the inside, extending 32 kilometers from west to east, with a harbor area of 130 square kilometers and a depth of more than 12 meters, allowing access to ocean-going mega-ships. The port is well-equipped, with special grain terminals and container and bulk cargo terminals lined up along the coast for more than 10 kilometers, and huge grain warehouses. More than 40% of the country's exports of grain in addition to transport. 1982 port throughput 51.65 million tons, ranking first in Canada; the main exports of grain, lumber, pulp, fish, flour, etc., and imports of coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, steel, cement, etc.. There are regular routes to Asia, Oceania, Europe and Latin America. There are regular car ferries to and from Victoria and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Land transportation is convenient, there are many railroads and highways to all parts of the country, and with the United States of America, Seattle and other cities in direct contact. The international airport, built on an island at the mouth of a northern tributary of the Fraser River, is one of Canada's major aviation centers.
Vancouver is also the industrial, commercial and financial center of Western Canada. The timber processing industry has a long history and is the primary industrial sector; other traditional sectors include aquaculture processing, canned food, paper, textiles, and printing. After the Second World War, oil refining, petrochemicals, aluminum refining, shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing and other sectors were developed, and industry tended to diversify. The city is powered by nearby hydroelectric power plants and oil and natural gas shipped through the Edmonton-Vancouver pipeline. Factories are concentrated along the shores of Ballard's Bay and the Falls River. Between the north and south industrial districts are commercial districts with wide streets and high-rise buildings that house the city's main administrative offices, major banks, insurance companies, modern hotels, and wholesale and retail stores. Residential areas are located in the periphery of the industrial area, from Burnaby in the east to Richmond in the south, and expanding northward to West and North Vancouver. The Chinatown is second only to San Francisco in size. The famous Lions Gate Bridge and another bridge across Ballard's Bay connect to North Vancouver. The Fraser Delta is a fertile land with well-developed agriculture, which provides an abundance of vegetables, fruits, and milk for the city's residents. The city is surrounded by mountains and the sea, with verdant forests and beautiful scenery, and has a variety of tourist facilities such as skiing, hunting, fishing, sailing and so on. Stanley Park, built on a small peninsula west of the downtown area, is known as an outdoor resort. The annual Canada International Exposition and the Vancouver Arts Festival also attract large numbers of visitors. The city is home to the University of British Columbia, founded in 1908, and cultural facilities such as museums, art galleries and libraries.
Vancouver is the media center of British Columbia, and most national media have offices here. Vancouver's two main English-language newspapers - the Vancouver Sun (a broadsheet) and The Province (a tabloid) - are published by Pacific Newspapers, a division of Canada West Global. The Globe and Mail, a Toronto-based national newspaper, has added a Greater Vancouver edition in an effort to increase sales in the Greater Vancouver area. There are also several free newspapers in the city, including 24 Hours and Metro Daily News. The Canadian National Channel, CTV Television Network, Global Television and Citytv all have affiliates in Vancouver.
Vancouver's ethnic diversity has led to a thriving multicultural media scene in the city. Ming Pao, Sing Tao Daily and World Journal all publish Canadian and Western editions, while OMNI British Columbia, a multicultural television station, produces news in Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Portuguese and Tagalog. In addition, the two cable channels of the New Era Media Group (New Era TV, which focuses on Cantonese, and City TV, which focuses on Mandarin) are available in Metro Vancouver. In addition, there are three radio channels serving the Chinese community in Vancouver***, AM1470 and FM96.1, both under the umbrella of Chinese Canadian Radio, and AM1320 Voice of the Overseas Chinese, under the umbrella of Huisheng Broadcasting Corporation. In recent years, Vancouver's Chinese online media are also in a stage of rapid development, and continue to bring more convenience to the Greater Vancouver area and the Western Canadian Chinese, among which the Vancouver Chinese portal Vancouver Homeland (vannow) is very popular among Chinese students and the public, the forums of the People in Vancouver (vanpeople) have become the hottest Chinese forums in Vancouver, and the classified information of the Vancouver Sky (vansky) has become the most popular. Vancouver Sky (vansky) is also widely recognized for the usefulness of its classified information. The Greater Vancouver area is home to nearly 400,000 Chinese, and its Chinese community is one of the largest in North America. Vancouver is home to a large Asian population. Vancouver is a beautiful city that harmonizes modern urban civilization with natural beauty and has enchanted countless people who have visited it. It has many large parks, modern buildings, charming lakeside paths, and well-preserved traditional architecture. Vancouver is home to many immigrants from all over the world, and no matter what race you are, no one will think you're a foreigner in Vancouver, which is why the first thing that strikes tourists is that Vancouver is a friendly place to visit.
Since February 2014, the main way to immigrate to Vancouver has been through the BCPNP program.