Ｂｅｉｊｉｎｇ’ｓ Ｏｌｙｍｐｉｃ Ｖｅｎｕｅｓ

ＤＥ　ＹＯＮＧＪＩＡＮ

AS at the end of November 2007, construction of 26 of the Beijing 2008 Olympiad venues, along with others in Hong Kong (equestrian events), Qingdao (sailing events), Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao (soccer) were completed. The work includes 12 new constructions and eight temporary venues and the refurbishment of 11 existing stadiums. Of the 31 venues in Beijing, 10 are scattered around the Olympic Green in northern Beijing; the remainder are in the western and eastern districts, university area and northern suburbs. Construction of the National Stadium, also known as the Birds Nest, will be finished in March 2008. Test events will be held there in April.

Resilient and Gentle

The traditional oriental concept of a “round heaven and square earth” is explicit in the Beijing Olympic Games Birds Nest (National Stadium) and the National Aquatics Center (Water Cube).

The so-called Birds Nest was named for its distinctive woven steel framework. The building covers an area of 250,000 sq m and has a 91,000-seat capacity. Stadium seats provide an equi-distant view of events at the court center from every vantage point. In addition to being the main Olympics venue for field events, the Birds Nest is also site of the opening and closing ceremonies.

The blue, bubbled surface of the Water Cube is the perfect foil for the overtly yang architectural style of the Birds Nest. Swimming, diving and other aquatic events will be held in this 80,000 sq m structure. Traditional Chinese buildings are generally square-shaped, in line with the traditional view of a “round heaven and square earth.” The Water Cube thus combines modern and traditional concepts.

The Water Cube was built on donations from overseas Chinese. As at September 2007, more than 330,000 Chinese living in 101 countries had contributed RMB 950 million – an amount in excess of that originally planned – to the project, according to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG). The surplus amount went towards constructing the Birds Nest.

One Center, Four Bases

Ten competition venues surround the Beijing Olympics Green (one center);the remainder are spread over the citys eastern and western districts, its university area and northern suburbs (four bases).

The National Indoor Stadium, which resembles a folding fan, is Chinas largest indoor venue. Adjacent to the Birds Nest and the Water Cube, it is the site of the gymnastics, trampoline and handball events. Three venues built in 1990 for the Asian Games on the Olympics Green have been refurbished. The temporary stadium in which the fencing events, including thefencing and shooting pentathlon events, are to be held will be converted into a 6,000-seat capacity meeting hall, and the two other temporary hockey and archery stadiums will be converted into a green area after the Olympiad.

Basketball, baseball, softball and cycling events are to be held in the eight venues in Beijings western district.

There are still more gymnasiums in Beijings university area. The table tennis event will take place at Peking University Gymnasium, and the volleyball, judo, taekwondo, weightlifing and wrestling events are to be held in the gymnasiums of four other universities.

The soccer, boxing, badminton, rhythmic gymnastics and beach volleyball events will take place at four venues in the eastern district. The rowing, canoeing (including flatwater and slalom), marathon swimming, and triathlon are to be held around a reservoir in the northern suburbs.