Considering the upcoming Olympics, Beijing certainly is an attractive destination for travelers and sport fans alike. The Chinese government expects to have more then 10 million square metres of construction finished this year. There are some bold projects and constructions we look forward to seeing in Beijing; here are some distractions, apart from the highly anticipated Olympic games.

The Beijing International Airport got a much needed redesign in 1999 based on designs by the Beijing Institute of Architecture and Design. To answer the growing traffic needs, Terminal 2 was opened in 1999, followed by an even bigger expansion with Terminal 3 in February 2008. Terminal 3 includes a third runway and a rail linking the airport to the city. The landmark of Beijing will soon become of the largest airports in terms of land size in the world.

The Tower of Power will be among the top tourist attractions for Olympic visitors. The green tower (similar in size to the one in the picture) will receive solar energy, reflected onto and received by thousands of sun-tracking mirrors. For the design of the building, the Chinese government has launched a competition to select the winning design. The solar plant will be built built near the foot of the Great Wall to the northwest of the Chinese capital. The building sponsored by the Institute of Electrical Engineering (IEE) is described as “a model for China’s upcoming other new solar power plants around the country.”

One of the most controversial, yet most astonishing building in Beijing is the National Theatre, designed by French architect Paul Andreu and nicknamed the “Eggshell”. Also known as the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the bulilding is made from titanium dode, surrounded by an artificial lake, 200,000 m² in size and with the capacity to hold 6,500 people. The construction was fairly controversial, many believing that it is nearly impossible to recover the investment or that it ruins the feng shui of central Beijing. Be that as it may, the building is surely an eye-catching construction for all the arriving visitors.

Complete as of March 2008, the Beijing National Stadium is the one that will host the upcoming 2008 Olympic Green. The stadium can seat up to 91,000 spectators during the Olympics; spread across a 258,000 square metres surface, 330 metres long and 220 metres wide, the stadium is said to have cost around 500 million USD. The stadium features a rainwater collection system, a translucent roof that transmits to the grass below, and a natural ventilation system.

For more information on Beijing Olympics attractions, schedules, events, venues and much, much more check out our FREE to download 2008 Beijing Olympics Guide Book. This free ebook has all the information you need on the event of the year, whether you are attending the games in person or watching from home, download your copy today for FREE.

photo sources: WikiCommons

Posted in China

This entry was posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 11:25 pm and is filed under China. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.