Friendship bridge

The classical but solar-powered arch also stands as a friendship bridge between Brooklyn and its sister district of Chaoyang in Beijing, and between Beijing and New York as well.

A gift from Chaoyang district, the nine-roof, two-pillar archway, called the Friendship Archway, will have blue indigo glazed tiles with sculptures of mythical creatures including a golden dragon, similar to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is another major gift from a foreign government received by the city after the Statue of Liberty, which was a gift from France. The arch will also feature two inscriptions on it - one will read "One Family over Four Seas" in Chinese and the other will be "Brooklyn-Beijing Chaoyang" in English.

In Chinese culture, archways traditionally mark the entry into major urban streets. They are also often placed at significant sites like temples, parks and government offices.

Many American cities, including Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco, have similar archways marking their own Chinatowns.

"Some people will say, well, what's so important about having a structure such as an archway, the only nine-roof archways in America," Adams said.

"That is a great symbol to have and it's a great sense of pride for Brooklyn," he said.

Brooklyn, which also has a sister city agreement with Yiwu, Zhejiang province in eastern China, attaches great importance to its cooperation with Chinese partners, Adams said.

"The goal that we would like to accomplish with all of our sister cities is to exchange cultural ideas," he said. "A better understanding of each other's culture will allow us to have a better understanding of the people that are involved."

The second is education, he said. "We would like our children to communicate with the children of China, give them an opportunity to learn from each other and communicate with each other."

The third is business, he added. "We want to encourage business ... and see how we can continue to learn best practices and how we continue to exchange in business ideas."

"That (the arch) is a powerful statement and it should not be placed in a lower level our acknowledgment of what is going to represent," Adams said. "People are going to be able to come here and see this item. This is a place of recognition for the Chinese community. My children, my children's children will be able to reflect."