Yongdingmen, the Gate of Perpetual Stability, marks the southern starting point of Beijing’s historic central axis. You can identify the site by the reconstructed gate tower, which rises as a square, wooden structure with a traditional…
Beijing Olympic Venues
This tour visits the most prominent sporting venues constructed and repurposed for Beijing's historic 2008 Summer and 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
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1. Yongdingmen
2. Shougang Skiing Datiaotai Center
The Shougang Skiing Datiaotai Center stands out for its dramatic juxtaposition of a sleek, curving ski ramp set against the backdrop of massive, weathered industrial cooling towers. This facility, built as the world's first permanent big…
3. Cadillac Center
The Cadillac Center is a large, multipurpose indoor arena defined by its massive, rounded silhouette and high-tech facade. Originally constructed for the two thousand eight Summer Olympics to host basketball preliminaries and finals, the…
4. Capital Indoor Stadium
The Capital Indoor Stadium is recognizable by its expansive, modernist concrete form, a structure that has defined this corner of Beijing since it opened in nineteen sixty-eight. As the country's first artificial indoor ice rink, the…
5. Beijing National Aquatics Center
The Beijing National Aquatics Center is distinguished by its translucent, bubble-like exterior, which is composed of four thousand individual cushions made from a plastic material called ethylene tetrafluoroethylene. Officially known as…
6. National Stadium
The National Stadium in Beijing is instantly identifiable by its exterior of interwoven steel struts, which give the massive structure the appearance of a giant bird's nest. Designed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog and de Meuron in…
7. Beijing National Indoor Stadium
The Beijing National Indoor Stadium is defined by its sweeping, curved roof and glittering glass curtain walls, which mimic the shape of a traditional Chinese folding fan. Known locally as the Fan, the structure occupies a site within the…
8. National Speed Skating Hall
The National Speed Skating Oval is defined by twenty-two translucent ribbons that wrap around its exterior, glowing at night to suggest the motion of skaters on ice. Known locally as the Ice Ribbon, this arena hosted speed skating…
9. National Tennis Center, Beijing
The National Tennis Center is identifiable by the Diamond Court, a stadium defined by sixteen powerful, V-shaped concrete columns that create a faceted appearance resembling a diamond. Opened in two phases, the complex first served as the…