The roof, up close

The Ottawa Chinatown Royal Arch is a royal arch because it has nine roofs, symbolizing eternal life and eternal reign of the emperor. The roofs are made of glazed roof tiles, as are the many figurative elements. These will not be visible in any detail from the ground, except with a telephoto lens.

It is now one month to official unveiling of the Arch, the long building process is drawing towards its culmination.

dragon motifs along the roof peak

the detailed story lines are intriguing, complex like the medieval cathedral stuatuary in Europe

The tiles are cemented together with red mortar. Double click to enlarge any picture to see more detail.

With a human in the picture, the scale of the pieces becomes more apparent

End of a "wooden" beam is capped with a glazed figure

Silhouetted against the sky, figures journey forever