Tucked away between Harbour St. and the Freemason Harbor, the riverfront Pagoda & Oriental Garden is entered through a series of 3 iconic gates with a red colored Mandarin plaque and distinctly shaped openings, including hexagonal, round and square.

Known also as the Marine Observation Tower, the garden’s octagonal pagoda building and the surrounding verdant complex were constructed in 1989 to celebrate Taiwan and Virginia ample economic ties. Fully funded by the Taiwanese government, the project was first conceived by Lee Teng-Hui, Taiwan’s former president, who visited the city 6 years prior as the country’s governor.

Interestingly, each and every part of the pagoda tower was manufactured in Taiwan, and then shipped to Norfolk, where all of which were assembled at the premises. As any passerby will probably testify, the building’s country of origin is well reflected in the zillions of intricate details throughout the façade.

The beautifully ornamented building houses an upscale tea house and restaurant that offers a plethora of Chinses and Western-style eats accompanied by a panoramic view of Norfolk’s coastline. It also serves a venue for all sorts of events, particularly weddings and bar mitzvahs.

Before its modern reincarnation as a Chinese unicorn, the site was a part of Norfolk’s industrial riverfront, in fact, the exact same pillars that now carry the pagoda building once supported a giant molasses storage tank that could hold 500,000 gallons of treacle at any given moment.

The two-story pagoda building is surrounded by a meticulously designed Taiwanese-style garden, featuring plenty of greenery and a 75,000-gallon pond, which is teeming with Japanese Koi carps and aquatic plants. As this garden was designed according to traditional Chinese principles, stones were scattered along the pond’s banks, representing mountains, the Yang, while the water is represented by the pond, the Yin.

A small sparkling fountain and two artificially-made waterfalls accompany visitors along their stroll between the Kwansan Cherry trees. Over 130 species of plants call this garden home, creating a vibrant mosaic of colors, shapes and even occasionally, sweet odors.

As previously mentioned, each of the garden’s three portals features a different type of a basic geometrical shape. As it turns out, the 3 shapes were cherry-picked as part of the Chinese philosophy that resonates with garden’s architecture. Alongside the deep spiritual meaning of these supposedly unassuming architectural elements, the gates also became an unusual backdrop for likes-hungry Instagrammers.

Interestingly, Norfolk’s oriental pagoda complex is merely one of numerous Taiwanese gardens all across the world, serving as an exceptional diplomatic mean to gain support amid ongoing tensions with the Chinese Mainland.