My first night in Beijing: Visiting the Bird’s Nest and Watercube
The Bird's Nest - Beijing, China
After spending most of the afternoon at the Summer Palace, I wanted to cross another thing off my list by seeing the Bird’s Nest and Watercube at night. For those who don’t remember, the Bird’s Nest, also known as Beijing National Stadium, and the Watercube, also known as the National Aquatics Center, are major Beijing landmarks that dominated 2008 Olympics. The Bird’s Nest held the open ceremonies of the 2008 games and the Watercube was where aquatics events were held.
Other cool facts about these two landmarks include:
- 80,000 permanent seating capacity of the Bird’s Nest
- Bird’s Nest is the largest steel structure ever constructed
- Total Cost to build the Bird’s Nest $423 million dollars
- Watercube is actually a rectangular box (cuboid)
- 25 world records were broke at the Watercube during the 2008 Olympics
- 17,000 seat capacity at the Watercube during the 2008 Olympics
The Olympic landmarks are somewhat out of the way in Beijing. I understand that it is possible to take the metro, but since I was coming from the Summer Palace, my friend and I just taxi cabbed it over. We ate dinner at a restaurant within walking distance of the Olympic Green area. After dinner and practicing a bit on my Mandarin, we decided to head out and check out the landmarks.
I think when the Chinese won bid for the Olympics they wanted to show the world their pride in hosting the games. The first thing I saw in the distance was the Bird’s Nest. Seeing the thing on TV, it is hard to realize the size and stature of this building. As the day turned into night and the building glowed with its orange lighting, it really amazed me how striking this stadium is. I couldn’t believe the size of the building. Standing there in person next to this gigantic stadium made me feel somewhat small. I walked around the Bird’s Nest snapping photos and taking it all in stride. I would have liked to go inside the stadium to see what it was like, but it is only open during the day. I think the trade off of seeing it from the outside at night was well worth it.
A view of the Bird's Nest in Beijing, China
As I took my photos and got some exercise from the walk, I approached the main walkway of the Olympic Green. Later in talking with some Chinese people, I learned that this was the area that was full of people during the 2008 games. On this night, probably due to the light rain, the square between the Bird’s Nest and Watercube didn’t have that many people, but that was OK by me.
Walking on the main walkway was pretty cool. On my right, I had the Bird’s Nest with its orange lighting and on my left, I had the Watercube with its bright blue lighting. The Watercube, which I didn’t realize until exactly seeing it in person, is really a rectangle in shape. I was interested in capturing the bright blue color against the rain and the darkness of the night. The Watercube might even be a little understated against the back drop of the Bird’s Nest, but I think that’s the way the Chinese wanted it.
The Watercube - Beijing, China
The rain started coming down a little harder and eventually my friend and I took cover in an overhead canopy area that had seats located on the main walkway. As the rain stopped and we headed back towards my hotel, I walked away impressed with what I saw. My final thoughts that night were that there is no other place in world where I could see structures like the Watercube and Bird’s Nest except in Beijing, China. I could cross another thing off my to-do list in China.
If you liked the photos in the article, check out my Bird’s Nest and Watercube Gallery.
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