Dr. Raymond Chong recently visited Vancouver, where–with “tremendous melancholy”–he stood on the bustling waterfront trying to picture his father’s arrival on the Empress of Asia in April 1932. His father, Gim Suey Chong, was just a boy when he set foot in Canada. His long and risky voyage across the Pacific and into Canada and the United States is captured in Oceans of Fate: Peace and Peril Aboard the Steamship Empress of Asia.
In the days after Raymond Chong’s visit to Vancouver, he composed a poem for his father, and he has granted me permission to include it here. I am very grateful to Raymond for sharing his poem as it serves to bridge our understanding of past events and the impact they have today. For reference, I’ve included a photo of Gim Suey Chong, along with an image of the big, gleaming passenger liner.
Saltwater City
In the Year of the Water Monkey
After a transpacific voyage
From the Pearl of the Orient–Hong Kong,
On a spring dawn,
The RMS Empress of Asia, the Greyhound of the Pacific,
Steams into Burrard Inlet,
Surrounded by an emerald rainforest,
To arrive at Canadian Pacific Railway Pier B-C,
In the Saltwater City–Vancouver,
Of the Great White North–Canada.
Aboard the steerage,
Gim Suey Chong, a young boy from Hoyping,
Watches in awe and fear
As he observes the bustling passenger terminal.
Amidst the silhouette of Edwardian skyscrapers,
He tepidly wanders to the grand Canadian Pacific Railway Waterfront Station,
With its Chateauesque style,
Red brick facade, iconic columns, and scenic murals.
There, he embarks
On the Canadian Pacific Railway Imperial Limited train,
Heading to Beantown–Boston,
To pursue his American Dream
On Gold Mountain.
In the Year of the Wood Snake
Ninety-three years later,
I eerily retrace my father’s sojourn
In Saltwater City.
Amid the sheeny towers
Of Modernist Downtown,
Surrounded by the majestic North Shore Mountains,
I hauntingly observe Canada Place
With its iconic sails.
As I walk along the Waterfront,
Teeming with hustle,
I edgily reflect on The Station,
With its neoclassical grandeur.
This spring Aurora,
I poignantly remember my dear father–Gim Suey Chong.
Copyright: 2025 Raymond Douglas Chong