Shimao Yinshanhai

Shimao Yinshan Hai (Seal the Mountain and Sea) is a coastal residential landscape developed by Strait Shimao, with design by Daohe Design and construction by Fujian Yalin Construction Group. The site is introduced through its own voice: sea wind on the face, tide rising with the view of the water, mountains standing for millions of years and the sea unchanged, backed by hills and fronting an extending beach. Standing on the site, looking out where mountain meets sky, one feels the release of heart beyond heaven and earth; the design question is how to plan a place that honours the land's original character while satisfying modern aesthetics and a contemporary dwelling philosophy. The starting principle is respect for this mountain and this sea, and the landscape reorganises the site along the terrain. Drawing on the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the project is built against the hills and facing the water, organised by the line 'observe the five signs of mountain and sea, feel that all things have spirit', and staged as an emerging city on the water as an offering to the place. Four motifs unfold. The Eye of the Sea sits at the site's highest point, taking the mythical shell of the Classic as its prototype: a white, gently sweeping arc bridges the skyline at the entrance, inviting people into a mirage, looking out on mountain-sea convergence and the waves kissing Wuhu Reef. Watching the Waves offers, from high ground, sea views framed by treetops swaying in the wind, then a descent along gentle slopes through dense flowers to the shore and the ease of resort living. Mountain Whisper respects nature and re-outlines the earth with the landscape hand, a stepped band along the hill like a winding musical phrase, morning light spilling along the ridge onto the sea and evening rose afterglow in the sky. Star Constellations closes the sequence under the sun, moon, stars and four seasons: looking up at the night sea, water connects to the ocean and one feels immersed in the vast, while looking down at the lone tree and the starry sky feels like looking up at the stars. As the heavens turn and the tides rise, in mist and under the sky, the mountain and the sea play their duet.