The Chinatown Friendship Arch

Although the Chinatown Friendship Archway was built in 1986, Chinese have lived and owned businesses in this area of Northwest Washington D.C. since the 1880s. [1] In 1984, D.C. Mayor Marion Berry and Beijing Mayor Chen Xitong declared their cities “sisters” and agreed to work together to build a traditional Chinese archway in the District of Columbia. Local architect Alfred Liu was chosen to design the archway, and his Qing Dynasty-inspired, 75-foot long, 47-foot tall archway took 7 months for skilled Chinese craftsman to construct. [2]

It now stands as the gateway to a neighborhood that is more historically Chinese than it is a present-day Chinatown. Although all businesses in the neighborhood are required to have Chinese signage, and there are a number of Chinese or Asian restaurants, few residents of the neighborhood are Chinese. Many moved to the suburbs as they could afford to do so, while others were displaced by the construction of a convention center in the 1980s and the Verizon Center arena in the 1990s. By 2015, only 300 Chinese residents remained in the neighborhood. [3] 

To learn more about the Friendship Archway and D.C.’s Chinatown, check out:

“What Makes Chinatown Chinatown? Talking About Change in Washington, D.C.,” a Storymap featuring interviews with neighborhood stakeholders.

[1] D.C. Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, “DC Chinatown History,” n.d. Accessed January 30, 2020. https://apia.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/apia/publication/attachments/chinatown_brochure.pdf

[2] John DeFerrari, “Chinatown’s Friendship Archway,” Greater Greater Washington, February 9, 2011. Accessed January 30, 2020. https://ggwash.org/view/8237/chinatowns-friendship-archway

[3] Molly Carpenter, Katy June-Friesen, and Pranita Rahbhise, “What Makes Chinatown Chinatown? Talking About Change in Washington, D.C.,” Storymap, May 2016. Accessed January 30, 2020. https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=58e8e61240cc475497f0e4d0f45783fa#

Photo credits: Top Image, Carol M. Highsmith, “Friendship Arch in Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown,” Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.