Beijing Olympic Park

I flew into Beijing for work shortly before lunch today. With a Sunday afternoon to kill I set off for a tour of the city's latest icon; the Birdnest Stadium. Built for the Beijing Summer Olympic Games at a cost of US$423 million, the complex comfortably seats 91,000 people. It stands in the midst of enormous new park carved from the city's northern outskirts and can be reached from downtown in less than 20 minutes via a new subway line.

My route to the nearest subway station took me past the new CCTV tower in the Chaoyang District, Beijing rapidly developing Central Business District. It's seemly unbalanced geometric form towers above the city's Third Ring Road. When I was last in town four years ago, the building's foundations were still being laid. Today it stands almost complete.


Behind the CCTV tower is the new Mandarin Oriental Hotel, an opulent five-star venue that caught fire on February 9. The US$730 milllion hotel had been scheduled to open in May. Now it's completely gutted as a result of a nearby illegal fireworks display that went horribly wrong. No doubt heads will roll. I could almost feel the anguish of its owners as I stood surveying the damage. The fire has clearly destroyed the building, leaving a charred, blackened hulk on the city skyline.


However, the most astonishing sight was that of new, soaring tower in the China World Trade Centre complex. Four years ago, this was just a barren plot of land and had been for as long as I can remember. Today, an almost complete 333 metre building stands in its place.

This is the China I remember. New buildings appearing overnight, almost without warning (like my hotel which was once a municipal bus park). It's mind-boggling stuff. I first came in Beijing in 1998. Back then, I recall witnessing a sea of bicycles in every direction, barely a car in sight and few high-rise buildings of note. Today's Beijing couldn't be more different.


To say that Beijing Olympic Park was impressive is simply an under statement. The complex is stunning. A broad boulevard extending several miles links a number of Olympic venues including the famous National Stadium and the equally impressive Watercube Aquatic Centre. I arrived at the perfect time. The afternoon sun was glinting off every corner of both buildings making for more than one memorable photo.


However, the real highlight today was something totally unexpected. Both venues were open for public viewing. For a few dollars visitors are given unrestrained access to key areas. I couldn't believe my eyes as I entered the Birdnest Stadium and soon found myself standing mid-field looking at the soaring architecture around me. My brother Hamish definitely had a lucky break, standing in the same spot less than eight month earlier as part of the Games Closing Ceremony.


The Watercube was equally memorable. If only for the odd location of the visitor's ticket office which is sited on the exact opposite corner to the ticket holder's entrance. I cannot imagine what bureaucratic process saw fit to force visitor to effectively circumnavigate the entire complex to buy and ticket before entering.


However, the walk wasn't in vain. The venue's inflated plastic skin was almost iridescent in the setting sun; a sight I'll not forget in a hurry. Inside, the venue's four pools are still furbished in television-friendly Olympic hues. The scene bought memories of the Sydney Olympics flooding back. I still recall sitting in the Sydney Aquatic Centre watching the finals of the Men's 10-metre Platform Diving from a poolside seat. Our location was pure luck as the seats had been purchased in a national ticket lottery 18-months earlier.