By Xinhua writers Yang Shilong, Chang Yuan and Zhang Mocheng
NEW YORK, July 28 (Xinhua) -- A grand and distinctive Chinese-style archway to be installed in the fast-growing Chinatown of Brooklyn, New York City's largest borough, is set to become a new tourist magnet in the cultural capital of America.
The arch, 40 feet (12 meters) tall and 12 feet (3.65 meters) wide, will span the 60th and 61st streets along the 8th Avenue in Sunset Park of Brooklyn, an area which has grown into one of the biggest hubs of New York's vibrant Chinese-American community over the past decades.
CHINESE COMMUNITY LEGACY
"The project of the archway is so important for the Chinese community in many ways," said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams in a recent interview with Xinhua.
"It's sending a clear and loud message that it is continuing expansion of the strength of the power and the respect that the Chinese community has in this city," he said.
The archway, the first of its kind in New York City, is going to be not only a "permanent edifice" that represents "a legacy of the Chinese community not only in the city, but in America," Adams said.
The first Brooklyn Chinatown was originally established in the Sunset Park area. Now it has expanded into neighborhoods such as Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge and Sheepshead Bay, as evidenced by the growing number of Chinese-run fruit markets, restaurants, beauty and nail salons, small offices, and computer and consumer electronics dealers.
"That (Chinatown's expansion) is causing a great level of excitement and energy," Adams said. "A lot of small businesses are opening, many things have been done to encourage the continued expansion of the Chinese community in the borough."
The number of Chinese in Brooklyn is 210,801, second only to Queens among NYC's boroughs, overtaking Manhattan's Chinatown (110,756) as the main residence of Chinese in the city, according to Generating Economic Opportunity in New York City's Predominantly Chinese-American Neighborhoods, a report released by Airbnb in March this year.
The annual Lunar New Year Parade in Brooklyn, which began in 1988, has become one of the biggest and most anticipated events for people of diverse ethnic backgrounds in New York City.
FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE
The classical but solar-powered arch also stands as a friendship bridge between Brooklyn and its sister district of Chaoyang in Beijing, and between Beijing and New York as well.
A gift from Chaoyang District, the nine-roof, two-pillar archway, called the Friendship Archway, will have blue indigo glazed tiles with sculptures of mythical creatures including a golden dragon, similar to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is another major gift from a foreign government received by the city after the Statue of Liberty, which was a gift from France.
The arch will also feature two inscriptions on it -- one will read "One Family over Four Seas" in Chinese and the other will be "Brooklyn-Beijing Chaoyang" in English.
In Chinese culture, archways traditionally mark the entry into major urban streets. They are also often placed at significant sites like temples, parks and government offices.
Many American cities, including Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco, have similar archways marking their own Chinatowns.
"Some people will say, well, what's so important about having a structure such as an archway, the only nine-roof archways in America," Adams said.
"That is a great symbol to have and it's a great sense of pride for Brooklyn," he said.
Brooklyn, which also has a sister city agreement with Yiwu, Zhejiang Province in eastern China, attaches great importance to its cooperation with Chinese partners, Adams said.
"The goal that we would like to accomplish with all of our sister cities is to exchange cultural ideas," he said. "A better understanding of each other's culture will allow us to have a better understanding of the people that are involved."
The second is education, he said. "We would like our children to communicate with the children of China, give them an opportunity to learn from each other and communicate with each other."
The third is business, he added. "We want to encourage business...and see how we can continue to learn best practices and how we continue to exchange in business ideas."
"That (the arch) is a powerful statement and it should not be placed in a lower level our acknowledgement of what is going to represent," Adams said. "People are going to be able to come here and see this item. This is a place of recognition for the Chinese community. My children, my children's children will be able to reflect."
GRAVITATION PULL
The arrival of the archway is a beautiful dream coming true after almost 10 years of persistent efforts on the part of Winnie Greco, president of the Sino America New York Brooklyn Archway Association, and many elected officials as well as Chinese community members involved.
Like the borough president said, Greco noted that for too long there was no symbol that represents the Chinese community in New York City which boasts the largest Chinese population in the United States. There were attempts to place archways and other areas of the city but they all fell short.
"It's exciting we're close to accomplish the task," she said. "If everything goes smooth, the arch will be installed in October," Greco told Xinhua.
It is believed the arch will help stimulate economic growth for local businesses and further develop its entertainment, cultural, and tourism industries as well.
"By having an archway in Sunset Park, it becomes a magnet with the gravitational pull that will allow a large number of Chinese visitors, tourists and residents to go deeper into the heart of Brooklyn," Adams said.
"It would infuse a great deal of capital and resources into not only the borough of Brooklyn, but into the city. A large number of Chinese tourists ... will now have a reason to go to see one of the largest archways in the country," he said.
