Chinese Paifang

 
Manchester has the second largest Chinese community in the UK and today starts a four day festival to celebrate the Chinese New Year.   Hundreds of bright red Chinese Lanterns hang in some areas including here in China Town beside the Chinese Arch Paifang.
 
The paifang, of which road traffic passes underneath, was specially built in China and shipped over in three containers. Constructed commenced over Christmas 1986 and was completed by Easter 1987, a year after the city of Manchester was twinned with Wuhan The structure was a gift from Manchester City Council to the Chinese community,  and is adorned in dragons and phoenixes.
The arch represents prosperity and the decorative scheme incorporates other traditional symbols and colours of prosperity and luck: red and gold, dragons and phoenixes.