Professor emeritus of surgery at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Wallace Chung has advocated passionately for the preservation of his cultural heritage. He played a key role in establishing Vancouver's Chinese Cultural Centre and provided leadership as vice-chair of the Canadian Multiculturalism Council. Over the years, he has assembled a unique collection of memorabilia, artifacts and printed items relating to the Canadian Pacific Railway and its trans-oceanic liner, the Empress of Asia. He has generously donated a significant portion of his collection to UBC and the Vancouver Maritime Museum to enable scholars and the public to gain a better understanding of the history of Asian immigration to Western Canada.