"The Wheels of Change" (2003) by Chusien Chang

DESCRIPTION: Station art consisting of several components:

  • 16-foot diameter granite-inlay pavement dial with Chinese language characters and compass

  • sculptural painted metal seating

  • granite pavers

  • Chinese bell supported by two carved stone columns



The 16-foot diameter pavement dial on the station's mezzanine level shows Chinese characters for 64 states of human situations, based on the 3,000 year old Chinese book of I Ching (in English, the Book of Changes).
At the center of the pavement dial is a glass-encased compass, visible also from below the mezzanine level from the plaza level. The compass pays tribute to the first compasses, made of lodestone, from the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD).

Granite-inlay pavement dial:

LOCATION: station-level plaza, mezzanine-level plaza, and street-level areas (both north and south entrances), Metro Gold Line Chinatown Station, 901 N. Spring Street, Chinatown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Sculptural seating:

Chinese bell:

Mezzanine level

Street/plaza level