From the corner of Faulkner Street and Nicholas Street in Chinatown

“Manchester United’s 1999 treble-winning parade passed beneath this very bridge !”

Another corker this time, courtesy of Steve Welsh.

The top photo is from around 1983 and is taken from the corner of Faulkner Street and Nicholas Street in Chinatown. George Street runs down the left hand side of the photo, connecting with Mosley Street.

It took Euan a while to spot some landmarks and get his bearings but noticed the former Eagle Star Insurance building on the left, which was located on Mosley Street until its demolition in 2004. The white building on the far right hand side (19-21 George Street) is still there. You can also see the side of 58-60 George Street in both photos.

The bottom photo shows the view towards the site in August 2025; now in use as the Chinatown surface level car park. On the right hand side is the Imperial Chinese Arch which was a gift from Manchester’s twin city, Wuhan, and was completed in 1987.

The arch was specially built in China and shipped over to Manchester in three huge containers. It was then put together between Christmas 1986 and Easter the following year by a specialist team from Beijing. It was the first imperial arch to be built in Europe, painted in red and gold and adorned with dragons and phoenixes – traditional Chinese symbols of luck and prosperity – along with ceramics, lacquer and gold leaf.