I first met “the governor” a few years ago on a trip to Israel with a group of friends. A math major with the academic halo of both USTC and Shanghai Jiao Tong, she was also, most importantly, the only driver in our group. Calmly driving us from Jerusalem to the Jordanian border through pouring rain and landslides, she left a lasting impression.

Having lived in Canada, she has a deep affection for North America, so I asked her to write about the Maple Leaf country as she remembers it. As for Europe, there will also be a very handsome guy to tell me how he managed to check off the whole map there.

About British Columbia

Life is in British Columbia in Great Bear Rainforest.

God is out there, Alan.


British Columbia, on Canada’s Pacific edge.

South America suits passion, Northern Europe feels easygoing, the Mediterranean is romantic, New York is glamorous… all of those labels fit. But it’s strangely hard to find one precise word for BC.

Maybe that’s because nothing here feels showily exceptional. Everything is so naturally in its place that nothing hits you with force.

Only when you leave do you suddenly think: this place is really wonderful. In BC, life feels the way it’s supposed to be. Real, and nice.

Let’s start with Vancouver Island, at the far western edge. On the map, you can see the straight U.S.-Canada border stretching westward, then suddenly dipping inward near the Pacific. That indented piece is Vancouver Island.

Rumor has it the U.S. once put a lot of effort into claiming this land, but failed in the end. Just look at the provincial capital, Victoria, which routinely ranks among the world’s top three most livable cities, and you’ll know how pleasant the climate is. Put simply, it’s a place where winters are not as cold as Shanghai, summers are not as hot as Shanghai, and you actually get spring and fall (winter temperatures stay above freezing, and on average there’s only one day a year when summer temperatures exceed 30 degrees).

In fact, despite sitting at a latitude comparable to Heilongjiang, the warm Pacific current makes this island feel very far from the snowy-fantasy version of Canada that many people imagine.

The beauty of this island is a kind of self-contained harmony.

Sunsets are simply beautiful. Salmon simply do return upstream. Deer really will chew up all the flowers in your front yard. Castles quietly watch the tides come and go with history behind them.

When you walk your dog, it really will refuse to behave and insist on bothering other dogs. When you grab a double-double at Tim Hortons and walk outside to see gas prices up by 70 cents, you really will blurt out, no way.

That kind of stillness, grandeur, and rise and fall is the kind of ordinary life that feels beautiful yet out of reach in your imagination. It lets happiness slip quietly into your heart without leaving you overwhelmed.

Take a casual walk, and Victoria’s Mount Tomie, Mount Douglas, Goldstream Park, and Hadley Castle at Royal Roads University lose nothing to the more famous harborfront by the Empress Hotel or the scenery inside Butchart Garden.

The people here are like that too.

It’s not just the kind of friendliness where someone naturally reaches out to help with your two suitcases and gets you onto the car. It’s the kind where students see you laughing on the street after predrink and pull over to say, Heading to Distrikt? C'mon, I'll give you guys a ride, then turn around and drive 10 kilometers in the opposite direction for you.

Maybe now you want to say: see, that’s contradictory. So there is something excessive here too. If someone stopped like that to ask me, I’d probably think, what’s wrong with this person?

Hey, wake up—isn’t this how things are supposed to be? Isn’t the abnormal part the kind of life that, over the years, has eroded sincerity and trust?

Although the island is only a few dozen kilometers from Vancouver or Seattle, the only ways on are by small plane or ferry. There was once even a municipal plan to build a bridge, but island residents voted against it unanimously, so to a large extent it has been spared the noise and bustle.

Head north, and after leaving Greater Victoria and passing Sidney and Dunkun, you’ll reach the major central city of Parksville.

Keep going north and you’ll arrive at Tofino, a dream destination for surfers. It’s also a Long Beach, but unlike the one in California, where you might need forever to find an angle without other people in the shot, here you can shoot however you like.

Chesterman Beach has the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen. Farther north are the ski destination Mount Washington, the charming yacht-show town of Uclulet, and Campbell River. (Special thanks to Maik and Udo for appearing in the photos; Ondrěj had already wandered off under the rocks looking at starfish.)

Leave Vancouver Island and take a ferry to the big city of Vancouver—you might even spot whales on the way (and I hear the buffet on the ferry is pretty good). Vancouver’s best-known attraction is probably the Capilano Suspension Bridge, and there are free buses to Capilano Park from several points around the city.

Besides the cliffwalking in the park, hiking nearby is also a great option. Walk from Stanley Park all the way to Gastown, home to the world’s only steam clock, and you’ll understand how this city blends urban prosperity with nature.

Of course, going to Vancouver without eating your way through the city would make no sense. Richmond, effectively claimed by Chinese food lovers, has some of the best Chinese food outside China; the Italian, French, and Japanese food are all genuinely excellent too. Honestly, that’s my main reason for going to Vancouver.

A two-hour drive from Vancouver brings you to Whistler, host of the Winter Olympics and a paradise for skiers around the world. There are also some hot springs nearby, great for a vacation.

BC is even more about forests and fishermen. Try the thrill of reeling in a 30-jin saltwater fish. Try cold-water diving and hunting. Try the satisfaction of taking in a full sweep of red maple leaves at a glance.

Derek captured Christina holding a fish, happily bringing sunlight back into Christina’s numb black-and-white life. Dragged along by Denny, Allen made it to Nimo Bay and fell in love with the BC that helped him rediscover what felt real.

That’s BC: calm and gentle, quietly healing people’s souls. It’s well worth a visit. So, shall we go?

About the Author

This article comes from my friend’s WeChat public account, and the author is Shannon P. If you’re interested, feel free to follow along.