Photo Essay: The Yip family reunion
Wed, August 06 2008
It was all hugs and smiles when 375 Yips gathered in Vancouver’s Chinatown on Saturday for their family reunion. Equipped with red, hard helmets, the Yip family toured the 1889 Yip Sang building, built by Chinese pioneer Yip Sang to house his Wing Sang company, Western Canada’s largest import export business. The six-storey structure at 51 East Pender is being refurbished into an art gallery and the new offices of condo king Bob Rennie, who has left the brick exterior and the third-floor classroom in tact.
Bob Rennie gets ready to take a group of Yips across Pender Street to survey renovations made to the Yip Sang building
Brain Lock chuckled out loud as he remembered when he used to shoot pigeons with BB guns taken from "Uncle 19." Numbering is a practical way to keep track of family members
One by one, all 375 Yips made their way through the 100-year-old building
Grace Yip (right) finally has the chance to pose for family photos after planning the reunion for over a year
The Yips admire the view of Vancouver from the building’s roof as the sun finally manages to break through the clouds
Discussion took place of further renovations
Enthusiasm is shown even in the school room
Inside the Yip Sang Building
