Bird’s Nest

The National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest" due to its iconic design was the key competition venue of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the 13th Paralympic Games. The opening and closing ceremonies of the two Games have taken place here, together with the football, and track and field competitions. The stadium, designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron with artistic input from Ai Weiwei, is the world's largest steel structure.  The design is influenced by traditional Chinese ceramics, while the colloquial name Bird's Nest can be used to refer to a nest for wth world's hopes, as well as sharing the name with an expensive Chinese speciality! It was the iconic structure of the Beijing Olympic Games and has since become a recognized landmark worldwide, attracting thousands of visitors.

To earthquake-proof the stadium, the bowl and roof were split into two separate elements and the bowl split into eight zones, each with its own stability system and effectively its own building.

The National Stadium is divided into 12 sectors (A-H, J-M), and has 12 ticket checks around the periphery, marked AB, BC, CD, DE, EF, FG, GH, HJ, JK, KL, LM, MA. "Tier" is divided into upper (3), middle (2) and lower (1).

The Water Cube
The National Aquatics Centre, also known as ''The Water Cube'', is one of the dramatic and amazing venues to host Beijing Olympics in 2008.

The outer membrane of the Water Cube is manufactured using ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene) air cushions.  This is the first building of is kind in China and it is also an economical and water-saving creation. The blue-colored material is much lighter than conventional glazing structures though has the same lighting effect. The building managed to make savings on the overall cost of construction as a joint venture managed to produce the material at a much cheaper cost than the original German producer's costs. The structural design is based on the natural formation of soap bubbles which give a random, organic appearance and helping to link the structure to its aquatic function.

The swimming pool is deeper than most Olympic swimming pools, allowing swimming at faster speeds, while the gutters to the side of the pool disperse wave energy.  A consequence of this was the breaking of 25 world records during the 2008 Olympics.

Tours Including Bird's Nest:
Beijing one day excursion to Great Wall, Olympic Venue (Bird's Nest) 
Beijing One Day Art Tour to the Capital Museum, Bird's Nest and 798 Art Zone
Beijing Half Day Tour to Bird's Nest

Album of Bird's Nest & Water Cube