A Visit to the Beijing Olympic Stadium

"The Amount of Money Spent on the Beijing Olympic Stadium Resounds a Silent Face of Gold for the Chinese"

It took close to 4 years and $500,000,000USD to build.

The uniquely designed stadium is also referred to as the 'Bird's Nest' because it was built in the guise of a bird's nest, albeit out of shimmering metallic steel instead of straw.

The scope of the Beijing Olympic Stadium

They used 45,000 tonnes of steel to construct it or roughly 36 Kms worth of beams if you laid them all out in a straight line. It is really a sight to see even if you won't be attending any of the Olympic events.

The Beijing National Olympic Stadium will host the main Track and Field competitions for the 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. It will seat 90,000 people for the Summer Olympics but capacity will be reduced to around 80,000 after the games.

The Stadium will continue to host sports venues of all kinds into the future. By then it should be better known by its true name of the Beijing National Stadium.

Some of the other popular events, such as Sailing and Soccer (Football to those outside the United States) will be held at other venues like the Beijing Workers' Stadium.

Another one of the facilities that will hold Olympic events is the Beijing National Aquatics Center. It was built alongside the Beijing Olympic Stadium in the Olympic Green and became known as the 'Water Cube' because the outer walls look like they're made of water.

It's as unique a design as that of the National Stadium.

This Aquatics Center will host the Swimming, Diving, and Synchronized Swimming events of the Olympics. Originally, it was supposed to also hold the water polo events, but they were subsequently moved to the Ying Tung Natatorium.

These two architectural marvels alone are sure to draw crowds simply on the merits of their design for years to come. The Bird's Nest and the Water Cube are truly one of a kind.

The Olympic Stadium and the Olympic Center will remain long after the Olympics and will likely become a very popular tourist destination for people who travel to Beijing in the future.

For those going to China to experience the Olympics firsthand, it should be kept in mind that security is going to be extremely tight. When attending events at any of the Olympic sites, try to get a room near the facility holding the event you are watching as early as possible.

Learn about the available budget Beijing hotels. It can be as little as $1.50USD to reserve a room close to the Olympic Stadium or anywhere else in Beijing.

You will also likely want to get there early to take pictures of the architecture and the Olympic crowds. It is sure to be a crowded and a wonderful experience for all the visitors, as well as the Beijing locals.

Just a quick 1 minute video of the Olympic Stadium. It's really amazing to see such a huge metallic creation in the middle of an empty field.