The Asian community is the fastest growing community in Alberta, and we're featuring some of these immigrants in our series "East meets West."

Today we meet Noriko Yamamoto. Originally from Japan, she's called Edmonton home for almost three decades.

Noriko works as a cook at Glenora day care. CBC Radio's Dalia Thamin met up with her during busy lunch time at the daycare.

Listen to Dalia Tahmin's interview with Noriko Yamamoto (Runs 8:42)

Amy Loewan is a Hong Kong born artist who now lives in Edmonton. Her current art project is called The Peace Project.

It consists of floor-to-ceiling wall hangings made of rice paper strips woven in a simple, flat basket weave. Words of peace in many languages are interwoven, some legible and some obscured by other words. There are also faint charcoal markings and shadings on the hangings.

As part of our series East Meets West, CBC Radio's Dalia Thamin visited Amy in her studio, which is really a transformed garage behind her house in Edmonton's Ritchie neighbourhood.

Listen to Dalia Tahmin's interview with Amy Loewan (Runs 5:11)

We continue our series East Meets West, which celebrates the contribution of the Asian community in Edmonton.
Today we meet the Edmonton filmmaker, playwright and actress Mieko Ouchi.

She's been busy working on various projects ever since her career kicked off with the documentary Shepherd's Pie and Sushi, about her mixed family roots. And her latest acting role is in The Guard, a Canadian series that runs on Global TV.

CBC Radio's Dalia Thamin spoke with Mieko.

Listen to Dalia Tahmin's interview with Meiko Ouchi (Runs 8:42)

Dr. Gilmour Becina in the town square of Santa Cruz. Becina, like thousands of other Filipino doctors, has retrained as a nurse in hopes of a job in Canada or another western country. . (Ann Sullivan/CBC)

Capital Health plans to hire 500 nurses from the Philippines, and Dr. Gilmour Becina would love to be one of them. Becina doesn't earn enough as a doctor in the Philippines to send his children to university, so he's done something unheard of in Canada: He has retrained as a nurse.

It's a growing trend in the Philippines, where thousands of doctors are retraining as nurses each year, in the hopes of working in western countries like Canada.

CBC Radio’s Ann Sullivan met Dr. Gilmour Becina in the social security office in Santa Cruz, Philippines.

Listen to Ann Sulivan's interview with Dr. Gilmour Becina. (Runs 4:18)

Edmonton's Chinese community is as diverse as the city itself.

Although the first Chinese immigrants arrived in Canada in 1858 for the gold rush, the first major wave of Chinese migration was between 1881-1885 when the Canadian Pacific Railway brought in nearly 6,500 Chinese workers to build the railway.

This timeline gives the full history of Chinese migration to Canada, Alberta and Edmonton. Click on a date to navigate.

Three videos from CBC Edmonton's television archives.

Edmonton's Chinatown Gate grand opening (Runs 1:14)
The official opening of the Chinatown Gate. The gate was a symbolic display of friendship between the people of the twinned cities of Edmonton and Harbin, China.

Mandarin language program one-of-a-kind in Edmonton (Runs 8:29)
Language is one of the strongest links to culture and community. For many Chinese immigrants, Edmonton's unique Mandarin school program is a way for their kids to keep in touch with their Chinese heritage.

Vietnamese restaurant Pagolac (Runs 2:48)
Thuan Ngo is one of many Vietnamese boat people who eventually found a home in Edmonton. Here, he managed to start over again, building a new life and the Pago-lacs--two of Edmonton's favorite restaurants.