My English name is Lily Gao, and I am an actor and storyteller. I was born and raised in Harbin, China, and my Chinese name is Xue Lian (雪莲), which means ‘snow lotus’.
Toronto Chinatown is my favorite place to be. Especially throughout the pandemic, not being able to visit family in China has been incredibly difficult. So my favourite thing to do is collect groceries from Chinatown, and FaceTime my family for dinner, or afternoon tea.
Our family traveled a lot, but my parents always made sure I spoke Mandarin at home, and would always remind me the importance of keeping my culture alive. Back then, I of course didn’t understand this, as my goal was to rid of any hint that I was different. Foods and traditions I now proudly present to friends and co-workers, were secretly tucked away...
Asian Heritage Month is very important to me, because knowing our cultures are proudly being celebrated across the country shows our younger generation that who we are, and what we are made of, is something to be proud of. If I had seen Chinese food on TV screens when we first moved to Scotland, I would have never secretly thrown away the beautiful beef stew and fried rice lunch my mother used to pack. Now, I couldn’t be prouder to call myself a Chinese woman, and show off the proper pronunciation of: 雪莲.