The Honolulu City Council this week renamed a Chinatown park in honor of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China, who studied in Honolulu as a teenager.

A local group plans to erect a statue of the leader as a 13-year-old -- his age when he first arrived in the islands -- in the renamed park.

Sun, who was born in 1866, led the 1911 Revolution to overthrow the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and found the Republic of China.

The park, currently named Chinatown Gateway Park, will be renamed Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park.

The foundation and city are planning events to mark the 10th anniversary of a sister-city relationship between Honolulu and Zhongshan in China, where Sun was born.

(Shanghai Daily via Agencies August 17, 2007)