Monday, August 12, 2013

Ottawa Chinatown Gateway

"The Ottawa Chinatown gateway was a dream for the community for many years. Led by the Somerset Street Chinatown Business Improvement Area (BIA) with its dedicated Gateway Committee, strongly supported by the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, the City of Ottawa, the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada, the City of Beijing, as well as many community members and corporations, the dream has become a reality!

"This unique gateway is a symbol of prosperity, health and good fortune and is of Chinese imperial-style design, with nine distinguished golden roofs covered with glazed tiles. Five symbolic coins of five precious metals (gold, silver, copper, iron & tin) and five threads (red, yellow, blue, white & black) were embedded into this structure. By following these Chinese traditions, it is said to bring blessings to the people of the land.

"This twin-city project between the City of Ottawa and the City of Beijing also commemorates the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Canada and the People's Republic of China.

"This project was started on April 22nd, 2010 by a joint Canada-China team and was completed on October 1, 2010."