You can copy the content of a folder /source to another existing folder /dest with the command
cp -a /source/. /dest/
The -a option is an improved recursive option, that preserve all file attributes, and also preserve symlinks.
The . at end of the source path is a specific cp syntax that allow to copy all files and folders, included hidden ones.
Hence, the answer to your question is that, you should replace "-r" with "-a" in your command.