About

Growing up in Vancouver as a First Generation Chinese person in the 70's was very difficult. When I first started Kindergarten, I didn't speak any English. Like most traditional Chinese households, we only spoke Chinese at home, which is funny because both my parents were fluent in Chinese and English.

When I started school, being like the only handful of Chinese people in my school, I was bullied. They made fun of my language, my looks, even my lunch. I remember why couldn't I have a "normal" lunch like all the other kids?

It made me not want to be Chinese.

I did whatever I could fit in, I tried to refuse to speak Cantonese at home, I watched Sesame Street, Electric Company, Zoom, Schoolhouse Rock and Mr. Rogers to help me learn and speak English and was successful in doing so; due to the racism and bullying, I had successfully "white-washed" myself.

Growing up in a Chinese house hold, I still held on the fun things of being Chinese, even though I was desperately rebelling to not be. We still celebrated Chinese New Year, always went for my favorite Sunday Dim Sum Lunches, and made my weekly trips down to Vancouver Chinatown with my Ma Ma (Grandma) to do our Chinese Food Shopping (this was the days before T&T and specialty Chinese Grocery Stores) and made our weekly trips to the Shaw and Golden Harvest Theatres in Chinatown to see my favorite Martial Arts movies; surely everyone wasn't Kung Fu Fighting; were they ?

But I was in this grey area, if I didn't have a mirror, I wouldn't know I was Chinese. I mean I was Chinese, but I wasn't Chinese enough. I was too Chinese to be Canadian, but not Canadian enough to be accepted. 

With the mass immigration of people from Hong Kong and China in the 80's, I was known as the CBC (Canadian Born Chinese) person to them, who had almost lost all of his Cantonese language. People couldn't understand why I couldn't speak Chinese very well when all they could see was a Chinese person. People to this day ask me where I am from and I respond "Canada" and then they ask me, "But where are you really from?" This continued for years and continues to this day.

Now, take the word Chinese out and replace it with any other "Ethnic Race" in Vancouver's Lower Mainland and I am sure I'm not the only person who has experienced these events.

As I started getting older, I had a strong yearning to regain some of my lost heritage. I mean, I knew who I was but I wanted to start embracing my Chinese Culture. I enrolled in Chinese lessons in Vancouver Chinatown with the Mon Keang Chinese School in the Wong Benevolent Association Building in Vancouver. Buried Memories and Feelings started to come back. I learned about the deteriorating social aspects of Vancouver's Chinatown, the changing demographics of Cantonese, crime, gentrification, Racism, etc...and across North America, all the Chinatowns are facing the same scenarios. 

There are so many other amazing Chinese Born Canadians and Chinese Non-profit Organizations that have left a trailblazing legacy, and many are and have brought pride to the Chinese Community and continue to do so.

This website is by no means to undermine those amazing organizations and all that they do, but what it does do, is to add to the amazing work that they do and this is my ever so little contribution to that.

The last thing I wanted to do in 2023, was to start a new business, but there was a yearning in me to do something that embraced who I was, who I am, and who I continue to be and to bring awareness of the Chinese Community to others. 

So, welcome to Sai Bao, it is owned and operated by Tim Cheung.

Our products are to bring remembrance, nostalgia, and funny products that represent today's current styles and memories gone by with an Asian flair.

For every product we sell, a portion of that sale will go towards the many non-profit organizations that help to support the Chinese Communities in their own Chinatown's.