Hastings East includes Canada's largest Chinatown and North America’s third largest Chinatown by population, after San Francisco and New York. Located on the downtown east side of Vancouver, Chinatown, has grown into a proud centre of Chinese culture, home to traditional restaurants, markets, temples and gardens. Hastings East extends from Chinatown along Hastings East to Nanaimo Street. The region also includes Strathcona and within it, the Downtown Eastside (DTES), Vancouver's oldest neighbourhoods. In recent years, Hastings East has experienced a renaissance, with trendy bars, shops and restaurants, along with new art spaces reclaiming historic spaces. Hastings East has transformed dramatically, with the young and cultured relocating and co-creating a trendy art scene.

Within Hastings East’s Chinatown, are the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Park and the Classical Chinese Garden. Although they share the same pond, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is different from the adjacent Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park. The park is a public space, while visitors pay an entrance fee at the garden. In recent years, the Classical Chinese Garden has hosted the annual Vancouver Fashion Week, attracting world-class local designers and international media.

Chinatown has a much higher percentage of retail businesses than average for Vancouver, with food stores being the most common. So not surprisingly, food stands are popular at the Chinatown Night Market on Keefer Street, open every weekend from May to September. Enjoy live music, storytelling, and Mahjong, as well as authentic dim sum treasures.

Hastings East in Vancouver real estate, is almost exclusively made up of apartment dwellings and has a much higher population density than the rest of Vancouver. Average apartment and condo prices in the area start from the low side for Vancouver. This has made the area attractive for a boom of new condo developments in recent years. Examples are V6A at 221 Union Street, Ginger at 718 Main Street, Loft 33 at 33 West Pender, Keefer at 133 Keefer, 188 Keefer on the corner of Keefer and Main Streets, Flats on Georgia at 219 East Georgia and East at 71 East Pender Street. Further east in Strathcona are condos in development, including Wall Centre at 900 Hastings. With its close proximity to downtown, these new and multi-tower mid-rises are conveniently located to Chinatown, Gastown, Railtown and Commercial Drive.

Many Hasting East residents are of Chinese and Vietnamese heritage, with Chinese being the dominant non-official household language in the area. It is also home to immigrants and labourers of Japanese, Italian, Jewish, British, Scandinavian, Russian and Ukranian descendants. The area around Oppenheimer Park and Powell Street is also home to the Japanese-Canadian community. There are more seniors in the area than average in Vancouver. Household sizes in the area are smaller, with fewer married couples, fewer children per family and more single-person households. Reflecting the older age, lower education levels and small household sizes, Hastings East household incomes are lower than the Vancouver average. However, with affordable new condo developments, a more youthful population, with higher spending patterns are relocating to this area, fueling its transformation. As well, young singles with artistic and cultural employment and interests are also moving in, further changing the face of Hastings East.