Vancouver's southern neighbour, Richmond, is a fascinating place.
Made up entirely of islands in the Fraser River Delta, the main island is famously named after a travelling showgirl.
It's home to massive Buddhist temples, the first McDonald's in Canada, and some of the best Chinese food outside of China.
So here are five things you may not have known about the island city by nature.
1. It's older than Vancouver
Vancouver may be the focal point of B.C.'s Lower Mainland now, but it was a latecomer when it came to incorporation. It was founded in 1886.
Richmond was founded just a few years earlier, in 1879.
Based on the Ontario-style township, the municipality was divided into three wards at first and then five in 1891. The five were Sea Island, northwest Lulu Island, Steveston, the South Arm and eastern Richmond, and the rest of eastern Richmond.
While the founding date is known (Nov. 10, 1879) the reason for the name Richmond has been lost to history. There are three theories, but no proof of which is true, according to the city's archives.
2. There are 49 km of dikes
If one stretched all the dikes in Richmond end to end, they'd reach from the tip of UBC to Nanaimo's shore.
Assisting the huge system are 39 water pumps that make sure the city stays above water.
3. The first flight in western Canada
While the first powered flight took place at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903, Canada didn't see a plane until 1909.
The first flights, perhaps unsurprisingly, took place in Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario.
However, the next place to see a plane fly in Canada was a crowd at Minoru Park in Richmond on March 25, 1910.
They gathered to see an American, Charles K. Hamilton, fly around the racetrack in his biplane. He was travelling through the western U.S. to show off the plane and decided to make a stop in Canada as part of the tour.
As part of his visit, he raced a car. The plane lost.
4. The first geocache city in Canada
Geocaching is a hobby where people use GPS to find little boxes with log books hidden out in the public; it's been going on since 2000 (just after public use of GPS was allowed).
The City of Richmond organized its own "GeoTour" back in 2015 and became the first official geocache city in Canada.
5. The epic cat sanctuary
The largest cat sanctuary of its kind in Canada, the Regional Animal Protection Society (RAPS) cat sanctuary at 3380 No. 6 Rd is a huge facility.
Home to up to 500 cats every year, the organization offers help to cats in a variety of ways.
For cats that can be rehomed, there's an adoption program. For cats with feline immunodeficiency virus (often called feline AIDS), there's care to live their lives. For cats that have behavioural issues, there's space for them.
"RAPS was founded with the vision that all animals deserve the right to their best life," reads the sanctuary's website.
For people who want to visit the cats, they can do that (check beforehand for the hours).
