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Popular Scenic Spots
Tiananmen Square & Forbidden CitySummer Palace
Temple of Heaven
Ming Tombs
Hutong (traditional part of Beijing)
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Xiushui Market/Silk Market
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Bird's Nest & Water Cube (Olympic Village)
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Olympic Green
Great Wall at Juyongguan (the most magnificent)
Great Wall at Badaling (the most famous)
Great wall at Mutianyu (the prettiest)
Great wall at Simatai (good for hiking)
Great wall at Jinshanling (good for hiking)
Huanghuacheng Great wall (not officially open, steep)
Jiankou Great wall (steepest)
- The Most Popular Scenic Spots
National Stadium (Bird’s Nest)Olympic Village
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The national stadium is located at north 4th ring of Beijing city, the south part of Beijing Olympic Green. Due to the structure of this stadium which is similar to a huge steel-made bird’s nest when overlook from above, it is commonly known as Bird’s Nest by the locals. This huge Bird’s Nest was the destination where the opening and closing ceremony of 29th Beijing Olympic year 2008 took place. One of the unique designs of this stadium is that the designers do not over-packaging the surface of the stadium but to expose its structure and therefore turns this stadium to be an outstanding one.
     There are many architects and experts shared the same thought that the National Stadium is not only the new landmark in Beijing and a new heritage of Olympic Games but also a great achievement in world’s history of building architecture.
The construction of National Stadium was started in December of 2003 and cost as much as 226.7 billion RMB. The outline of Bird’s Nest is basically made up of huge steel structure. The overhead design here is in a shape of saddle with size 332.3 meters and 296.4 meters. The highest point has reached 68.5 meters while the lowest point at 42.8 meters. Besides that, the outline of this stadium is filled with air-cushioned film which enables the whole building to be in a water-proof condition. At the same time, the landscape of grass in the stadium is still able to obtain enough sunshine to grow in a proper way.
In case of competition, the audience seat at viewer platform can be modified in order to suit the requirements and the needs of each occasion. Within the duration of Beijing Olympic 2008, 20 thousands temporary seats were inserted at the highest part of the stadium with guarantee of each and every audience is able to take a full glance of the whole venue of competition.
The whole area of audience seats are divided into a number of small districts and the overall flow of people had been calculated in statistics to ensure the flow at all entrances and exits are evenly spread. Besides that, the design of the national stadium has been inserted with humanity elements. The seats are well designed in a condition in which surrounded the stadium in such as way that no matter which position you are seated, the average sight distance to the center point of the venue will always remain about 140 meters. This is one of the wonderful designs of this stadium. Moreover, special designs have been applied in order to ensure every single person at any corner of the stadium is able to hear the broadcast and announcement clearly.
On the other hand, about 200 seats were prepared for handicapped personnel. This type of seat is slightly higher than the normal seats which ensure a similar view for everyone. Within the Olympic Games 2008, wireless broadcasting system as well as hearing aids is available for people who are visual or hearing impairment. National Aquatics Center (Water Cube)
The National Aquatics Centre, also known as ''The Water Cube'', is one of the most dramatic and amazing venues to host Beijing Olympics in 2008. With the total construction area of 65, 000-80,000.
It was completed in autumn 2007. The "Water Cube" was built in accordance with a water-saving design concept to be a gigantic green architectural wonder. According to statistics, the outer surface and roof facade can "collect" 10,000 tons of rain water, 70,000 tons of clean water and 60,000 tons of swimming pool water annually. And the venue can also save 140,000 tons of recycled water a year.
The venue's membrane structure, covered by ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene) air cushions, is not only the first of its kind in China and the world's largest and most complex ETFE project, but it is also an economical and water-saving creation. The blue-colored "hubble-bubble" material is much lighter than conventional glazing structures with the same lighting effect. So the cost of its supporting steel structure was reduced considerably, said Zheng Fang, the top designer of the Chinese-side design company. ETFE material made by a German company would have cost 400-500 Euros per square meter, but the same material manufactured through a joint venture was only 2,000 yuan per square meter. The conventional glass covering will cost about 500 to 600 Euro.
The structural design is based on the natural formation of soap bubbles which give a random, organic appearance. To achieve this, research was undertaken by Weaire and Phelan (professors of physics) into how soap bubbles might be arranged into an infinite array.