The world's largest single-span Chinese arch forms the gateway to an array of colorful restaurants. Alfred Liu designed this huge seven-roofed, wooden archway at the behest of the governments of Washington, DC, and the Municipality of Beijing, Washington's sister city. The Chinese characters on the arch read, "zhongguo cheng" - from left to right - which means Chinese city or Chinese quarters.

You'll know you're in Chinatown by the aromas wafting from the many restaurants, the street signage, the lighting, and sidewalk paving.

Jostling for attention next door to the old Washington Hebrew Congregation (1898), now the Greater New Hope Baptist Church, this colorful archway symbolizes an area that has been the center for both Chinese business and immigration in Washington, DC. While touring Chinatown, you'll want to note Alfred Liu's Wah Luck House, built to assist Chinese residents displaced with the building of the city's Convention Center.

Each winter, the Chinese New Year is celebrated in grand fashion with a parade and firecrackers, drawing crowds from the entire metropolitan area.

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