Korean Bell of Friendship, Los Angeles

© Carlos Marin/Getty Image

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

This stunning structure is the stone pavilion housing the massive Korean Bell of Friendship in Los Angeles, a city with a large Korean American population. It's ringing in Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, which starts today. The month was chosen in recognition of the first documented arrival of Japanese immigrants, on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad by more than 20,000 Asian immigrants on May 10, 1869.

Back to that intricately decorated bronze bell. It was a gift to the city from South Korea to mark the US bicentennial in 1976 and is modeled on the largest bell cast in Korean history, the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok, made in 771. Both versions are among the largest bells in the world.