Attraction Type: Landmarks
Venue: Bird's Nest
Location: Olympic Green
Total land surface (sq. m.): 65,000 - 80,000
Seats:80,000 permanent and 11,000 temporary
Olympic events: Opening & Closing Ceremonies, Athletics, Football Final
Paralympic events: Opening and Closing ceremonies, Athletics
"Bird's Nest", also named the National Stadium, which was the main venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games,was designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize Gainer Jacques Herzog, de Meuron and Chinese Architect Li Xinggang.It is shaped like a "bird's nest", and looks like a cradle.
The construction of the National Stadium began on December 24, 2003 and was completed in March, 2008. The total construction cost was more than 2.2 billion.
The shape structure of the "Bird's Nest" is a colossal saddle-shaped elliptic steel structure with 24 truss pillars in total. It is 333 meters long from north to south, 294 meters wide from east to west, with the highest point at 68.5 meters and the lowest point at 42.8 meters. It is the largest steel structure in the world. The outside was covered by a sort of rain-proof membrane,and sunshine can go through transparent roof to amply allow for the lawn to grow. This special membrane can also help with lighting within the stadium and effectively diminish glare from the sun and shadows, allowing a more favorable competition environment.
The design of the "Bird's Nest" fully embodies the achievements of human kind; wherever spectators sit, the line of sight is about 140 meters from the centerfield.
The "Bird's Nest" hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, athletic events, and football final of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games which was from August 8 to August 24, 2008 and the Beijing 2008 Paralympics from September 6 to September 17, 2008. Even after the Olympics, the stadium continues to host international and domestic sporting events, such as football.
The National Stadium, the main track and field stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics, was dubbed the "bird's nest" because of its innovative grid formation.
The twig-like structural elements and the bowl-shaped roof are the masterpiece of the project, yet they posed great challenges for the technicians and workers who erected the building so that it may stand on its own feet.
The stadium seated as many as 91,000
spectators during the Olympics. It is located right next to the BeijingNationalAquaticsCenter.
In 2002, government officials engaged architects worldwide in a design competition. Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron collaborated with ArupSport and the China Architecture Design and Research Group to win the competition. Contemporary Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei, was the Artistic Consultant for design.
The ground was broken on Christmas Eve December 2003, and construction started in March 2004.
It was built with 36 km of unwrapped steel, with a combined weight of 45,000 tons. The stadium has some 11,000 square meters of underground rooms with waterproof walls.
Travel Tips:
Location: No. 1 National Stadium South Road, Chaoyang district
Transportation: take Bus 386, 407, 656, 737, 740, 753, 804, 827, 939, 944, 983 or Yuntong 113 and get off at Beichenqiaoxi stop or take Bus 510, 839 to the National Stadium.