Montreal’s historic neighbourhood celebrates first-ever 'Chinatown Day'

Chinatown is in celebration mode.

It's been one year since Quebec deemed the Montreal neighbourhood a heritage site.

"We want to celebrate ourselves, and most of all, we want to celebrate the diversity that makes up the unique Chinatown identity," said May Chiu from the Chinatown Roundtable.

People who stopped by the area had the chance to try fortune cookies made in the heart of Chinatown and visit historic buildings normally closed to the public.

"So really what I'm hoping people do today is discover and really like that they get to go into new places they never seen," said Montreal Chinatown Roundtable board of directors president Leslie Cheung. "Some of these places are 135 years old. Some of them just opened a month ago."

While Chinatown Day is about highlighting the success of the area, residents and homeless people are struggling to co-habitate.

Last week, a student returned home to find a naked man inside her apartment, and others say crime and drug use are almost daily occurrences.

• WATCH: Student shocked to find naked man in apartment

Even though residents say city officials are not hearing their complaints, city councillor Robert Beaudry says the municipal government understands the current reality.

"We created a specific team of intervention in the street, EMMIS, who works with the police officers to try to connect, to link with the population as well to have more services to those population," Beaudry told CTV News.

Some of those services that work with the homeless such as Old Brewery Mission, set up alongside community groups to include all residents housed or unhoused on Chinatown Day.

"We want to include them, and we're here to offer them services if they need to," said intervention worker Nicholas Singcaster.

While organizers say it won't solve all the problems, they say being together is important.

"We're really looking forward into how do we make Chinatown an inclusive place for all of its residents housed and unhoused," said Cheung.

The goal is for everyone to enjoy Chinatown and all it has to offer for many more years to come.