Tides Park

YANTAI • 2018

“Tides Park” is the seventh pearl in a series of Pacific Rim Parks. The park is located in Yantai, an important city located on the Yellow Sea.  Born of sea and sand, earth and sky, rain and sun, the park invites the citizens of Yantai to consider what it means to be a member of our Pacific Rim Park family.

The design of the park echoes the yin and yang that is fundamental in Chinese culture.  Balancing walls made of granite and marble from the Shandong province city of Laizhou, the walls embrace a perfect marble orb which represents the pearl.  The pearl free-floats above a sea-green tiled platform.  A patio and walkways that surround the walls are made of marble blocks cut into varying shapes and inlaid with mosaic, shells, and stones collected from the nearby Yellow Sea. 

The park covers 30 meters of a 120 meter parcel.  The area surrounding the park has been planted with junipers and pines which enclose the space and give it an intimate connection with both the land and the sea. 

A nearby public beach brings many visitors who come to sit and look at the intricate hand-laid tiles and stones and gaze out upon the sea.  We trust this park will create new myths, new stories, and new bridges of understanding between people around the Pacific, as we honor our connection, and friendship and even our differences. 
 

Key Organizations

• Yantai Foreign Affairs Office
• Yantai University
• Ilan Lael Foundation
• Yantai Friendship
• University of California in San Diego International Relations of Pacific Studies Program
• Builder?
• Builder?
• Builder?
• Other?
• Other