Chinese Friendship Gate

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  • Address
    N 10th St btwn Cherry & Arch Sts, Chinatown
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Lonely Planet review

A decorative arch built in 1984 as a joint project between Philadelphia and its Chinese sister city, Tianjin, the multicolored, four-story gate is Chinatown's most conspicuous landmark. The fourth-largest Chinatown in the USA, Philly's version has existed since the 1860s. Chinese immigrants who built America's transcontinental railroads started out west and worked their way here.

Today's Chinatown remains a center for immigrants, though now many of the neighborhood's residents come from Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in addition to every province in China. Though it does hold a few residents, the tone of Chinatown is thoroughly commercial.