A peace theme park has open in Dalian, a north-eastern coastal city in Liaoning Province that was a military port during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Covering 130,000 square meters, the Dalian World Peace Park was designed by French architects Devillers. Construction of the 230-million-yuan (US$27.71 million) park began in the spring of 2000 and was completed recently.

The design of the park is in the shape of half the Earth and the main building is in the shape of a peace dove.

The park features bronze statues of the heads of state of 96 countries and the words of a "Prayer for World Peace" engraved on a glass wall.

Also exhibited are artworks presented by 100 countries and more than 1,000 special foreign stamps and other gifts representing wishes for peace.

In June 1998, the world poets conference invited heads of state from more than 100 countries to write on behalf of their people, in their own language and in the form of a poem or motto, a prayer for peace for the 21st century.

The call, conveyed through the United Nations, drew a warm response from more than 120 state leaders.

To commemorate the event, the world poets conference decided to build a world peace park. Lushunkou, a district of Dalian, was chosen as the venue.

Located at the southern-most tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, Lushunkou is of great strategic significance.

Qing Dynasty authorities established a navy base there in the early 18th century and built the Lushunkou military port in 1880, one of the five leading military ports in the world at that time.

Lushunkou was occupied by Japan after the 1894 war between Japan and China, and in 1895, Lushun was taken by tsarist Russia. Lushunkou was occupied by Japan for more than 40 years after the 1904 war between Japan and Russia.

( eastday.com August 14, 2002)