National Stadium (Bird's Nest)

Affectionately known as Bird's Nest, the National Stadium is situated in Olympic Green Village, Chaoyang District of Beijing City. It was designed as the main stadium of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The Olympic events of track and field, football, gavelock, weight throw and discus were held there. Since October 2008, after the Olympics ended, it has been opened as a tourist attraction. Now, it's the center of international or domestic sports competition and recreation activities. In 2022, the opening and closing ceremonies of another important sport event, Winter Olympic Games will be held here.

The design of this large stadium was accomplished together by Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron and Chinese architect Li Xinggang and the others. The designers didn't do any redundant disposals to the look of the stadium. They just exposed the steel structures entirely and let them become the most natural appearance. The form of the stadium looks like a big nest which embraces and nurses human beings. Also it looks rather like a cradle bearing human beings' hope of the future.

The construction of the National Stadium started on December 24, 2003. On July 2004, the project was stopped temporarily due to the amendment of the design. On December 27 of the same year, the construction was resumed and finished in March, 2008. The gross cost of the whole project is 2,267 million Chinese yuan (about 33 million dollars).

 

National Stadium is like a huge bird's nest.

Inside Scene

The stadium covers an area of about 63.6 acres (25.8 hectares), which can accommodate 80,000 fixed seats and 11,000 temporary seats. Its appearance was formed by big steel frames. The top surface is saddle-shaped with the major axis of 1,090 feet (332.3 meters) and the stub axis of 972 feet (296.4 meters). The tallest point of the stadium is 225 feet (68.5 meters) above the ground and the lowest point is 140 feet (42.8 meters). The top is covered by semi-transparent air bubble film. This kind of material is waterproof and can make enough sunshine penetrate into the stadium. Owing to that, the lawns in it can grow well.

 

Olympic Green Map

In the National Stadium, the designs of everything are humanistic. The bowl-like stands zone surrounds the court. The stands can be changed in many ways, which can satisfy the needs of different numbers of spectators in different periods. During the Olympics, the temporary seats were set at the top of the stands zone. Rows of the stands distribute scientifically. No matter where the spectator is seated, the whole game can be seen without any visual obstruction. The stadium adopted the electro-acoustic public-address system. It makes the index of voice definition reaches 0.6. This number assures that all the audience can hear the broadcast very clearly. What's more, there are more than 200 wheelchair seats intended for the disabled. Many architectural experts think that it not only is a symbol building of the 2008 Olympics but also set a very good example to the world's architectural history.

Tip: Besides the National Stadium, you may visit its neighboring attractions such as the National Aquatics Center (Water Cube) and the National Indoor Stadium.