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It’s 1889, the year that this Shand Mason Horse-Drawn Steam Fire Engine was made. More relevant, it is just four years earlier in 1885 that the transcontinental railway that united Canada as a nation was finished and soon after that, Vancouver was incorporated as a city.

These dates are important to the movie: Life For Mile. It is in the same period. And as I watched the steam fire engine at work as the pistons pumped up and down, I couldn’t help but let my imagination runs wild. I thought about the life of the Chinese railroad workers back then. They had no means of going back home as the Canadian government (and railroad company) conveniently forgot to pay their return boat fare that was promised when the Chinese were hired. Some of the Chinese died and were buried in Boston Bar, the city of Kamloops and other places along the Fraser Canyon where the transcontinental railroad was built. The infamous Head-Tax was legislated into laws that kept more Chinese from coming into Canada amidst waves after waves of anti-Chinese sentiments among a largely European population which went on for decades.

Life For Mile is a Historic Drama/Action/Kung Fu/Mystery/Romance/Comedy feature film based on true events about the Chinese and Indian (First Nations) laborers in the construction of the transcontinental railway that united Canada as a nation in the 1880s. It has been said that for every mile that the Canadian Pacific railroad was laid, one Chinese life had been sacrificed, hence the title of the movie) but it is rarely ever mentioned about the native Indian’s contribution. Those two compelling historical facts and unique Canadian heritage have also rarely been put in the entertainment media in the past until now.

Life For Mile is executive produced by Stephen Chang, a Kung Fu Grandmaster and Hollywood actor (VC Commander in First Blood ” Rambo “) and produced by Ray Van Eng with a script written by Ray Van Eng based on a treatment by Stephen Chang. Mr. Chang also acted in such movies as Double Happiness (1994 – 2 Genies), International Rescue (1990 Hit) Icarus (2010) and TV series such as The X-Files, Twilight Zone, Kung Fu – TLC (1996 Warner Bros.) Psych (2011), The Evidence (2006) and dozens of other productions. Mr. Chang has spent the last 35+ years in conceiving this movie after he met the real-life character, a Chinese railroad worker named Ming, in the early 1970s who told Chang the true-life story that is now being produced as a feature film planned for a world-wide theatrical release on the big screen.

For the latest updates and info, please visit the – Life For Mile Facebook page

Stephen Chang, Actor/Executive Producer IMDB Page
Ray Van Eng, Producer/Writer – Vancouver21

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On June 12, 2011, the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and Mayor Gregor Robertson celebrated 125th anniversary (1886-2011) and commemorated the Great Fire of 1886 that raged across the entire city just two months after its incorporation. Squamish Nation Chief Gibby Jacob and Deputy Chief Nick Delmonico gave speeches amidst a First Nations song and dance and Chinese Lions Dance dedication. The event took place in Gastown where Gassy Jack Deighton had the city’s first saloon. A working 1889 model of Shand Mason Horse-Drawn Steam Fire Engine on loan from the Victoria Fire Department was brought out for service.

VIDEO – Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Celebrates 125th Anniversary

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