Chinatown Millennium Gate Gastown & Chinatown

Inaugurated in 2002, Chinatown's towering entrance is the landmark most visitors look for. Stand well back, since the decoration is mostly on its lofty upper reaches, an elaborately painted section topped with a terra-cotta-tiled roof. The characters inscribed on its eastern front implore you to 'Remember the past and look forward to the future.' The gate sits on the same site as a previous, temporary wooden one, built here for a royal visit in 1912. The lions on either side of the Millennium Gate originally had polished granite balls in their mouths, but they mysteriously disappeared soon after the gate was unveiled and have never been found.