Dalian Friendship Memorial Building

Built in 1994 to mark the 15th anniversary of the friendship agreement between Kitakyushu and Dalian, China, this brick and stone building is a near-replica of an 1902 administrative office designed by German architects for the Russian-administered Trans-Manchurian Railroad. It later became the Dalian Club and then the Nihonbashi Library under Japanese administration. Lacking original blueprints, the design team traveled to Dalian to measure every detail of the surviving building. About 45,000 bricks and 5,000 pieces of cut granite were imported from Dalian for construction, with toolmarks on the stone recreated by hand. Russian and German architectural touches appear in the high tower roofs and half-timbered walls. The first floor now houses a Chinese restaurant; the second floor is open to the public with displays on Dalian history.