China Blog 7: Olympic Park

Cheney joined me at the National Art Museum, and we took a subway to the Olympic park..
It was such a treat to see the iconic "Birds Nest" stadium, and go up into the Towers. It is also a very good way to appreciate the huge scale of a lot of Beijing architecture, and in fact, on top of the Olympic Towers, you get a real feel for the vastness that is Beijing itself.
Cheney was so apologetic for the gloomy, grey day, but that's the way it was all week.
Didn't diminish the sense of awe, at 800 feet up.

On the way, through to Beijing traffic, and the endless vistas of high rises.

And, like most of Beijing's public places, vast amounts of space.

And the first view of the "Birds Nest" stadium, space for 90,000 spectators.

Cheney beside an area map.  As you can see, the man-made lake flowing through the 

park, is of course, in the shape of a dragon. 

The stadium, with the Media tower far left, and the Towers in the distance.

This photo is just for Alex

This building was actually built quite a few years before the Olympics.  It does, however, 

represent a torch. 

The Media offices and broadcasting tower

And the Olympic towers, five in all, the tallest at over 800 feet, the second tallest

structure in Beijing after the CTV tower.  It is supposed to resemble stalks of grass, but some have

considered it to be more closely resembling nails.

This was the most expensive attraction I visited, at about $20. And despite what I would

consider very reasonable for such an incredible view, Cheney and I almost had the 

entire towers to our selves.  Cheney explained that it is considered very expensive by Beijing standards, and 

that most people go up in the CTV Tower, taller, and cheaper. 

It is a huge problem with the whole Olympic Village, at a cost of billions, and barely being used. 

And the first view from the towers. 

The vastness that is Beijing

The CTV (Chinese Television) Tower in the distance.

After an elevator ride, the very top, open air, exhilarating. 

Glass panels in the floor so that you can look down 800 feet. 

The dragon's head of the man-made lake

About 60 degrees, a breeze.  And again, Cheney and I were the only ones on top. 

As I may have mentioned, compared to Boston's 700 thousand, Beijing's 20 million is impressive.

Cheney having coffee in the deserted café.

And the deserted entrance hall and souvenir shop

And one final look at this remarkable building.