Clad in distinctive wooden panelling, the Bendigo Chinese Association building in Bridge Street is one of the last remnants of a Chinatown that in 1964 was demolished to make way for a carpark.
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Another survivor is a pomelo tree, planted around the turn of the 20th century and since relocated to Cemetery Road.
The pomelo fruit is important as an offering on altars and its leaves are considered to be "the soul food of the dragon".
But these days they are collected from "descendants" of the original tree, which is "basically in palliative care", according to tour guide Leigh McKinnon.
Mr McKinnon is a researcher at the Golden Dragon Museum, who has been hosting Chinese cultural walking tours for the past nine years.
Good Friday tours offer an insight into Chinese legacy
The hour-long Good Friday tours offer a snapshot of the city's Chinese history.
"As well as a story of some of the wonderful things we do have, it's also a story of loss," Mr McKinnon says.
Among the history largely lost is records of "other Chinatowns" around Bendigo in the 1850s and 1860s, notably at Ironbark.
After the Ironbark village was ravaged by fire in 1911, the focus of cultural activity shifted to Bridge Street.
Inside the Chinese Association building's 'Elders Room', photos of past presidents adorn one wall.
Up until 1980 they were all born in China.
Another wall features displays of ancestral plaques, which, according to Mr McKinnon, make the room important to many people whose family members are memorialised there.
Above an altar where Lions are blessed before the Easter parades hangs a portrait of historic hero warrior Guan Gong, a mythical figure who was popular on the goldfields.
An antique weapon also hanging there dates back to the 1870s.
Visitors to the space are protected from evil spirits, which are said to travel in straight lines, by a traditional double doorway.
Former Sandhurst cemetery dead buried under carpark
Also featuring on the museum tour is the former Sandhurst cemetery - marked by a plaque on a rock - where at least 20 members of the Chinese community are thought to remain interred beneath the Park Road carpark.
"There's a reason this is called Cemetery Street," McKinnon says. "This is another example of cultural neglect."
For decades after 1854, when the area stopped being used for burials, members of the Chinese community continued to come to pay their respects, a fact reported by the Bendigo Advertiser mainly due to their accidentally setting fire to the grass with their incense.
Also on the itinerary is James Lamsey's herbalist practice in Farmer Lane and his residence, Jubilee Villa, in McRae Street, along with the Guan Yin Temple.
This year due to popular demand, a third tour has been scheduled for Friday with places still available in the 9am and 10.30 departures.
"Each tour is different because of the dynamics," McKinnon says. "Sometimes people come with memories of Chinatown or the personalities.
"It is always interesting - the feedback, the questions, sometimes the extra knowledge people bring as well."
To book for a tour, call the Chinese Dragon Museum on 5441 5044, or email info@goldendragonmuseum.org.
