Beijing Olympic Green Tour – Bird Nest & Water Cube

The Olympic Green is an Olympic Park in Beijing, constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics, lcoated at the north end of the central axis of Beijing City. It is a forest park, a central area including competition venues, Olympic Village, the Main Press Center, and the International Broadcasting Center and so on for Olympic Games, which all can be found at Olympic Green.

Highlights of Olympic Green

1. Beijing National Stadium

The National Stadium, also named the Bird Nest, was the main venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Located in the Olympic Green, its vast scale and dramatic form will create a new icon for China and the City of Beijing. Designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize Gainer Jacques Herzog, de Meuron and Chinese Architect Li Xinggang, it shaped as a 'bird nest', like a cradle, and the circular form of the Stadium represents Heaven, while the adjacent square form of the National Aquatics Center (the Water Cube), also designed-engineered by Arup, is a reflection of the Chinese symbol for Earth.

2. National Aquatic Center

Known as the Water Cube, the National Aquatic Center is the site of the aquatic games at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing China. With three pools under one big roof, the Water Cube will seat about 17,000 people for the 2008 Olympic Games. It has all the latest technology in place to put it among the fastest pools in the world.

- click to read more detailed info and guide of Bird Nest and Water Cube.

3. Beijing National Indoor Stadium

The Beijing National Indoor Stadium or "the Fan" held the handball, artistic gymnastics and tramp lining events. With a capacity of 19,000, it was the main indoor arena used during the Games.

4. Olympic Green Convention Center

The Olympic Green Convention Center, also called the National Convention Center, held fencing and, the shooting and fencing disciplines of the modern pentathlon. It is also used as the International Broadcast Center and the Main Press Center. The centre covers an area of 270,000 square meters.

5. Olympic Green Hockey Field

The Olympic Green Hockey Field hosted the field hockey events. It covers an area of 11.87 hectares with 2 courts and can seat 17,000 spectators. It will be deconstructed after the Games.

6. Olympic Green Archery Field

The Olympic Green Archery Field hosted the archery events. The field occupies 9.22 hectares and has a capacity of 5,000. It will be converted to green belt after the Games.

7. Olympic Green Tennis Center

The Olympic Green Tennis Center hosted the tennis and wheelchair tennis events. It has 16 courts (10 competitions, 6 practices) and a capacity of 17,400. It opened on October 1, 2007.

8. Promenade

The park itself, outside of the venues constructed on the Olympic Green, hosted some of the athletic events at the 2008 Games. These included the race-walk events, where the loops occurred on the Olympic Green, and the portion of the marathons just outside the National Stadium.

Post-Olympic Age

The designer Sasaki focuses on post-Olympic use and sustainability, seeking to balance East and West, ancient with contemporary, development with nature, and existing surrounding context with the Olympic Green, both poetically and programmatically.

The master plan includes areas for residents and visitors in daily lives and for further development for commercial, cultural, and hotel uses after the Games, and adopts "Green design", aiming for self-sustainablity and low-cost maintenance.

Location: located at the north end of the central axis of Beijing City  

Opening Hours: all day

How to get there?

Subway: Subway line 8 (Olympic Special Line): get off at Olympic Sports Center Station, and get off from Exit B1 or B2 and walk north.

Bus

• Take bus no. 82, 538 or 611 and get off at National Stadium East Station.
• Take bus no. 18, 108, 124, 207, 328, 380, 387, 409, 426, 558, 653, 694, 758, 803, 849, 985 or 特2 and get off at National Olympic Sports Center East Gate Station.
• Take bus no. 84 or 407 and get off at National Olympic Sports Center West Gate Station.

Weather/Best Time to Go

Beijing enjoys four distinctive seasons owning to its humid continental climate, ranging from very warm during the summer: 28ºC to 38ºC (82ºF to 93ºF), to chilly and dry during the winter: -10ºC to 10ºC (14ºF to 50ºF).

All of the year is suitable for your Beijing Olympic Green tour. A sunny day is much better, so forecast Beijing weather of your tour.

Travel Tips

• The Olympic park has become one of the most attractive tourist destinations of Beijing after the 2008 Olympics.
• You can do some sports in the Olympic park, such as, swiming in the National Aquatic Center, etc, only by paying for a little bit.