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Highway to Heaven
Monday, May 4th, 2009 by GetawayBC.com
Nowhere in Richmond are the city’s multicultural roots more prominently displayed than on the Highway to Heaven, a stretch of No. 5 Road that’s lined with mosques, temples, churches and religious schools.
But it’s not just the variety of religious institutions that makes this area-south of Blundell Road to Steveston Highway-a special attraction.
It’s the fact that there’s little more than fences that separate these faiths from around the globe. There’s a Jewish school, a Muslim school and a Christian school but none of the tension, animosity or clashes that’s seen in other parts of the world.
There’s the Vedic Cultural Centre, the India Cultural Centre’s Sikh Temple, the Az-Zaharaa Islamic Centre’s mosque, and the Ling Yen Mountain Temple, which sits just across the street from a church.
But the Highway to Heaven isn’t the only must-see religious place in Richmond.
There’s also the Nanaksar Gurdwara Gurusikh Temple on Westminster Highway-which is open daily to all visitors-and the International Buddhist Temple on Steveston Highway.
In 2007, Richmond’s Highway to Heaven was declared one of Canada’s top 50 wonders by the CBC.
It’s such a point of pride that the City of Richmond organizes spring and fall tours of the area for locals and tourists, dubbed the Temples of Faith Tour (see richmond.ca for more info).
“I think we should be very proud. Richmond…is a model of multiculturalism not only in B.C. but in all of Canada. The Highway to Heaven is a really great attribute to this community. We are very proud of that distinction,” said former Richmond Multicultural Concerns Society president Balwant Sanghera.