Saturday, March 26, 2011

Chinatown Gateway Plaza


Situated at the intersection of Bethel and Hotel Streets in downtown Honolulu is the Chinatown Gateway Plaza, encompassing a 26-story apartment building and an open plaza adjacent to the historic Hawaii Theater.

Guarding the entry to Honolulu’s Chinatown are two marble Chinese lions, a gift of Kaohsiung, Honolulu’s sister city in the Republic of China.

The park itself features a pond, over which swims a bronze sculpture of a honu (Hawaiian green turtle), created by Paul Saviskas in July 1999 on commission from the city’s Commission on Culture and the Arts.

In the sheltered corner of the park stands a sculpture of Dr. Sun Yat-sen at age 13, honoring his education in Honolulu at Iolani School. The artwork was sculpted by Chu Tat Shing in 2007, a gift of the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Hawaii Foundation. An adjacent plaque recalls Dr. Sun’s leadership in the overthrow of China’s Qing Dynasty, establishing democracy in China in 1911.
It’s a haven of peacefulness in the hustle and bustle of downtown Honolulu.

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