The Best of Washington, DC Architecture- Chinatown Friendship Arches

Lots of cities have arches. Paris has its Arc de Triomphe, Rome has its Arch of Titus, Barcelona has its Triumphal Arch, London has its Marble Arch, New York has its Washington Square Arch. So it is only fitting that the American capital, Washington D.C., should have one, too.

Washington’s arch, a Chinese arch on H Street in Chinatown, is not your ordinary marble paean to a military victory. It is a multicolored friendship arch, with lots of red and gold, as befitting an arch in the Chinese style. In the middle is a panel emblazoned with Chinese characters that says “Jungwa” – the Chinese word for “China.”

The arch marks the entrance to Washington’s Chinatown, which is probably one of the smaller Chinatowns around. It consists of a block or two dotted with Asian restaurants and a few buildings with pagoda-style roofs. Chinese immigrants moved into the neighborhood in the 1850s, when the German immigrants who originally lived there moved on to bigger and better things.

Nowadays, the Chinese population is dwindling. City planners hoped that a traditional Chinese arch would attract tourists and revive business. It was designed - aptly, I think - by a “local” architect named Alfred H. Liu, who clearly sounds like a man with feet in two worlds.

Since the arch went up in 1986, it has been a focal point for festivities marking the Chinese New Year. Because the Chinese calendar is lunar (like the Hebrew calendar), holiday dates are not fixed. If you are planning a trip to Washington D.C. in January-February, check the calendar to make sure you don’t miss the Chinese New Year Parade that passes under the arch.