On the late afternoon of our third day in Beijing, we took a visit to the Olympic Park. It is formally known as the Olympic Green (北京奥林匹克公园) in English. This Olympic park is constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics Games hosted in Beijing.
Olympic Green is located about 8km away at the North on the center axis (中轴线) of Beijing city. It can be reached by Beijing subway Line 8, which is also known as the Olympic Branch Line (奥运支线). The subway Line 8 starts at BeiTuCheng Station (北土城站) which is connected to the subway Line 10. From south to north of subway Line 8, the stations in sequence are Beitucheng (北土城站), Olympic Sports Center (奥体中心站), Olympic Green (奥林匹克公园站) and Forest Park South Gate (森林公园南门站). It is very convenience to get to the Olympic Green as the line 10 is joined to most of the subway lines, i.e. line 1, line 4, line 5 & line 13.
The subway system in Beijing is growing fast in these few years. There are numbers of new subway lines which are coming up in the future years. To be safe, log on to the Beijing Subway official website for updated information, subway maps and travel tips.
There are a few signature buildings in the Olympic Green. The most popular one will be the Bird’s Nest (鸟巢). It is officially known as the Beijing National Stadium (国家体育场). The opening and closing ceremonies, Athletics, and football finals of the 2008 Summer Olympics are hosted here.
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Once exited from the Olympic Green Station, I can already see the Bird’s Nest. It is one of the magnificent structural designs of the 21st century. It looks just like a huge bird’s nest sitting on the ground. Visitors are allowed to go into the stadium for a visit with ticket. However, I feel it is enough to just walk around the square and get impressed by the buildings in the Olympic Green. It is impressive that Beijing had presented a grand Olympic Games with surprises to the whole world.
- Behind is the PanGu 7 Star Hotel (盘古七星酒店) -
The Water Cube (水立方) is another signature attraction in the Olympic Green. It is also known as the Beijing National Aquatics Center (国家游泳中心). During the Games, most of the swimming and diving events were hosted here. It is located next to the Bird’s Nest on the west side. The Water Cube is nicer at night with the light effect. It is like a huge model of water molecule.
As a suggestion, you should stay at the Olympic Green until the evening or make a visit at the evening, to take a look at the night light around the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube. It is definitely worth visiting.
Ling Long Pagoda (玲珑塔) is another attraction in Olympic Green. During the Summer Olympics, it is used as a broadcasting device. It is a Multifunctional Studio Tower located on the northwest side of the Bird’s Nest. At night, the Ling Long Pagoda is lighted up and it is changing color. It is definitely a must see attraction in Beijing too.
The square between the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube is a board and long walking plaza. It has strong wind at most of the time. With this superiority, kitting is one of the activities here. Kites with FuWa (福娃) printing, the mascots of the 2008 Olympics, are sold around the square. There are a couple of young men connected together a few string of the kites; they bind the kites with a long string; they let the kites flied up very high on the sky. I saw another group of people at the other side of the square near to the subway station; the women were dancing on the square whereas the men were playing the drum. People in Beijing really have their very unique and fascinating leisure activities.
Security is very tight basically around everywhere in Beijing city. Security posts with metal detector and beg scanner are set at every entrance to the Olympic Green. It creates a save and secure environment for visitor as well as protection to the buildings and attractions from vandalism. The preventive action is very well done in Olympic Green.
The area developed for the Olympic Games is really very big. There are some other parts besides the stadiums, such as the Olympic Village (奥运村), a place for the athletes to stay, and the Forest Park (森林公园). They have their value of visiting for different people and purposes. In one word, Olympic Green is a recommended and a must-go location in Beijing.
Hope you like the way I shared the information and look up for my next blog for more on Former Residence of the Personage (名人故居).
Travel Tips:
Bird’s Nest entrance ticket price: RMB 50
Water Cube entrance ticket price: RMB 30
Beijing National Indoor Stadium ticket price: RMB 20
*reference price from 百度百科
Around Olympic Green:
Southern Area:
National Olympi Sports Center (国家奥林匹克体育中心),
Chinese Ethnic Culture Park (中华民族园),
Western Area:
Pangu Plaza (盘古大观),
Pangu 7 Star Hotel (盘古七星酒店),
Northern Area:
Olympic Village (奥运村),
Olympics Forest Park (奥林匹克森林公园),
Green Jade Park (碧玉公园),
National Zoological Museum (国家动物博物馆)
Reference Website:
Beijing Subway Official Website:
www.bjsubway.com
Reference Map:
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