Oct. 24, 1987: Edmonton's Harbin Gate opens in Chinatown

Thirty years ago, Mayor Laurence Decore, in front of hundreds of spectators, officially opened the Harbin Gate marking the entrance to Chinatown in Edmonton.

The assistant mayor from Edmonton's sister city, Harbin, China, also came to open the landmark.

Decoredescribed thesignificance of the gate as "a symbol of the strength of 30,000 Edmontonians who are of Chinese origin...a symbol that they belong, that they builtthis city along with everybody else."

Underneath the gate a traditional Chinese dance of the dragon was performedaccompanied bydrums, cymbals and gongs.

The gate,modelled after the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing,cost of more than $500,000, most of whichwas paidby the city.

In another tradition, many in attendance touched the tongue of the lions at the foot of the gate for bravery and good luck.

The gate is still standing at the downtown location, but the lions were moved to a city storage facility in April to make way for Valley Line LRT construction.

It has not been decided where the gate will be located after the LRTconstruction is completed.

In the video, CBC's Christine Richey reportson the opening of the landmark and the ceremony.