Who needs retirement? Vancouver senior shares his culture and expertise in Chinatown

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Vancouver’s Chinatown is like a second home for Bob Sung.

A third-generation Chinese-Canadian, Mr. Sung’s family has lived in B.C. for more than 130 years, running retail and wholesale food businesses and working with restaurants and grocers in Chinatown. Now, Mr. Sung shares his cultural heritage and his food expertise through culinary and cultural walking tours through that second home.

“I use food as a medium because food is my passion. Food is my background,” says the 73-year-old, whose company is called A Wok Around. “And people become more receptive to learning new cultural nuances and different aspects when their stomachs are full.”

Mr. Sung was a chef before becoming an instructor and registrar at Dubrulle Culinary Institute (now part of LaSalle College Vancouver). It was while teaching, in the mid-2000s, that Mr. Sung got his first taste of leading tours through Chinatown.

“Part of my curriculum was taking culinary students to different ethnic parts of Vancouver for them to be aware of all the different ingredients,” he says.

At 56, Mr. Sung left Dubrulle to start a tour business focused on Chinatown. “I didn’t consider myself ready for retirement, so I just kept on going,” he says.

His business steadily grew, becoming a popular choice for cruise ship groups. Tours last about four hours and include stops at the Chinese Canadian Museum, the Chinatown Storytelling Centre, street food sampling, a dim sum meal, a pastry and tea tasting and a visit to an herbal medicine store.

Along the way, Mr. Sung shares stories of his own upbringing, interwoven into stories of immigration and belonging. He says that for his generation, his parents’ generation, “one of the main priorities of being Chinese-Canadian was to assimilate into the Western culture. I thought it was high time, instead of striving to belong, to showcase my culture and heritage and be proud of it.”

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Sharing stories and values to stay connected

Exploring your cultural heritage is a great way to remain connected to your community as you get older, says Mei Lan Fang, an assistant professor specializing in urban aging at Simon Fraser University. She commends Mr. Sung for staying active in his community.

“Your culture is a part of your identity and it gives you a sense of belonging,” explains Dr. Fang. “It’s something that you pass onto other people and it grounds you.”

She notes that the act of sharing culture, stories and values with others has psychological and emotional benefits. “I think it helps people feel seen and connected.”

Seniors can be prone to isolation as they age, she adds. A 2023 study by Statistics Canada found that nearly one in five (19 per cent) of Canadian seniors aged 65 and over reported experiencing loneliness, with seniors living in Canadian cities more likely to report being lonely than those in small towns.

Meanwhile, a recent Canadian study published in medical journal PLOS One found that older Canadians who were physically active, emotionally well and socially connected were more likely to regain optimal well-being after illness.

“[Staying] active, cognitively and physically, is key to staying well and it’s key for longevity,” Dr. Fang says. “Whether it’s cultural expression or other forms of expression, it’s just about engaging and being active as you age.”

After running his tour business for nearly 20 years, Mr. Sung has no intention of slowing down. “I’m having so much fun with it,” he says.

He still comes up with new ways to approach his business, and he’s become more active on Instagram in the past couple of years – with the help of a marketing professional who films and edits his reels. He’s also picking up new skills along the way. The merchants he visits on his tours are his friends – and his language teachers.

“I learned Cantonese through trial and error, and it’s a continual process for me,” Mr. Sung says. “It’s not uncommon for me to go down to Chinatown when I have free time and have a cha siu bao with them, and they [will] teach me a phrase or a word to build up my vocabulary.”

A Wok Around is more than just a business for him, he adds. “Being in my seventies now, it’s like there’s a whole awakening of a stronger sense of purpose,” he explains. “I couldn’t imagine going down to Hawaii for four months of the year and just vegging and golfing. I’d rather be doing something which is purposeful, that at the same time feeds my mind, feeds my soul and feeds my body.”