Chinese Friendship Gate

There’s no question that you’re in Chinatown when you see the colorful Chinese Friendship Gate that forms an arch 40 feet above 10th Street near Arch Street. Built in 1984, it was a collaboration between leading architect Sabrina Soong, other Chinese engineers and artisans, and members of the local community.

In celebrating the traditional Qing Dynasty style, this grand gateway to Chinatown was partially constructed with tiles from Philadelphia’s [1] sister city, Tianjin.

It was the first gate constructed by Chinese artisans outside of China.