The Township of Langley is a district municipality immediately east of the City of Surrey in southwestern British Columbia, Canada.

It was one of a string of trading posts built along the Pacific Coast to compete with American fur traders for the rich pelts available in the region.

Over time, New Westminster and then Vancouver developed into urban centres, but Langley Township remained predominantly a rural community.

The British Columbia Electric Railway was built through the community in 1910, followed by Fraser Highway in the 1920s, and the construction of the Pattullo Bridge in 1937, all adding to Langley's importance.

These developments impacted the Langley Prairie area in particular, transforming it into the Township's main urban and commercial core.

[9] In turn, this birthed the need for upgraded and new amenities, especially with respect to health, infrastructure, safety and sanitation, in the neighbourhood.

The municipal government, however, refused to finance these projects as it bowed, instead, to politically influential farming communities and smaller, mostly rural, business centres, like Fort Langley, Milner and Murrayville, that viewed such spending as unnecessary.

Since the 1980s, Langley City and surrounding lands administered by the municipality have been subject to extensive strip mall development.

In addition to this, the community allowed extensive strip development along the Langley Bypass, which has become the new sprawled business area of the city.

In fact, there are no franchises permitted in the village and this has raised its profile as a tourist and independent retail destination with hundreds of thousands of annual visitors.

The bridge spans the Fraser River and connects the Township of Langley with the communities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.

In addition, the plan for the Carvolth Neighbourhood in Willoughby is promoting the construction of new office buildings in proximity to Highway 1 and 200th Street.

[14] The Township of Langley is largely a suburban community, but, while the centre is increasingly urban, the periphery (particularly in the south and southeast) maintains its agricultural nature.

The neighbourhoods of Willoughby and Walnut Grove are quite suburban and feature large numbers of big-box stores, the Willowbrook Shopping Centre, and the Famous Players Colossus Theatre Complex.

[18] The Fort Langley National Historic Site, which puts on events and exhibits relevant to the history of the area, is open to the public.

Langley takes part in British Columbia's wine-making tradition and has many wineries with a temperate climate which allow grapes to grow.

[20] In the agricultural areas of Langley, farms produce a variety of fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy and eggs.

There are several ice rinks in town, including the George Preston Centre in Brookswood, the Sportsplex in Walnut Grove, and the Aldergrove arena.

With a local equine industry valued at over $60 million annually, the Township of Langley has become the Horse Capital of BC.

The Walnut Grove and Willoughby communities are popular with commuters due to being the most developed areas with the easiest access to the highway.

By road, the highway is the fastest method of reaching Vancouver and all the cities along the route, such as Surrey, Coquitlam, New Westminster and Burnaby.

It is a major road that runs from the centre of Surrey, through Cloverdale, the City of Langley, Murrayville and continues on to Abbotsford.

It starts at 0 Avenue at the U.S. Border (as Carvolth Road), up through Brookswood, into the City of Langley centre, and continues north through Walnut Grove to the Golden Ears Bridge which leads into Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge across the Fraser River.

[26] Notable is the #555 service, an express bus that connects Langley to Lougheed Town Centre station in Burnaby crossing the Port Mann Bridge.

Harbour Air, the largest float-carrier in the world, formerly served Langley with scheduled service but terminated these flights due to low passenger numbers in 2011.

The Langley Airport is also home to the Canadian Museum of Flight, as well as SkyQuest Aviation and Standard Aero, a helicopter maintenance and modification contractor.

Originally a trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company, today it is a small village with restored colonial style buildings dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

[33] Another prominent historical structure is the barn located on Glover Road that is occupied by Milner Feed & Pet Supply.

Located in the north of the district and south of the Trans-Canada Highway, Willoughby is a mixture of new developments, and undeveloped rural land.

It is a more established developed area, with many supermarkets and shops, and easy access to the highway making it desirable for commuters.