As part of the original group of three cities supporting formation of the Pacific Rim Park, Yantai, China was the next obvious location to de­velop a park. Yantai had also been a Sister City with San Diego since July 15, 1985. A park here was built in 2001, but it was an ephemeral beauty. The park’s extraordinary site at the water’s edge rested on extremely valuable land, resulting in the park being taken down in subsequent years to make way for new development. Despite this loss, a replacement park in Yantai was built many years later (see page 83).

Built in 2001, the Yantai park perched on a 25-foot-high cliff overlooking the Bo Hai Sea and rock-strewn beach. Two gran­ite stones 6 feet tall formed a gate at the entrance and the students carved a poem in each of their four languages that read: “One moon draws us together through these stone gates.” The gates led to a 25-by- 25-foot slate courtyard rimmed with gran­ite walls. Embedded in the floor and walls, small marble carvings of sea creatures and symbolic elements represented the stu­dents’ home countries: China, Russia, the United States, and Mexico. At the far end of the courtyard, a marble carving of a Phoenix bird holding a Pearl and the Moon. In China, the Phoenix is the sym­bol of the Empress and has special mean­ing to the city of Yantai. Steps led past the Phoenix to a lookout and meditation area — an intimate space overlooking the sea.

Unfortunately, the city removed the park in 2014 so the land could be used for other purposes. The Yantai park is a reminder of the changes brought on by the passage of time. This opened up the possibility of a new park to built in Yantai which was completed in 2018.

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YANTAI PARK
Build Dates: June 24 – July 23, 2001