The Olympic Green in Beijing

The Olympic Green in Beijing

Beijing Olympic Park, also known as the Olympic Green, will be where the 2022 Winter Olympics takes place. It contains the main venues used during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, such as the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube.
English Name: The Olympic Green in Beijing
Other Name: Beijing Olympic Park
Chinese Name: 北京奥林匹克公园
Best Time: All year around
Location: 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) north of the Forbidden City, Chaoyang District

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Olympic Green

The Olympic Green (simplified Chinese: 北京奥林匹克公园; traditional Chinese: 北京奧林匹克公園; pinyin: Běijīng Àolínpǐkè Gōngyuán; literally: ‘Beijing Olympic Park’) is an Olympic Park in Chaoyang District, Beijing, China constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Since then, the streets around the park have been used for an exhibition street race of the FIA GT1 World Championship in 2011, after a race at Goldenport Park Circuit in the vicinity. It will again serve as an Olympic Park when Beijing hosts the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Venues

Beijing National Stadium

The Beijing National Stadium (国家体育场) or “Bird’s Nest” (鸟巢) is the centerpiece of this project. It hosted the opening and closingceremonies, athletics, and football finals of the Games. The stadium has room for 91,000 spectators, but the capacity was reduced to 80,000 after the Olympics. It will be the site of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Beijing National Aquatics Center

The Beijing National Aquatics Center (国家游泳中心) or “Water Cube” (水立方) hosted the swimming, diving and synchronized swimming events. It has a capacity of 6,000 (17,000 during the 2008 Olympics) and is located next to the National Stadium. It will be the site of the curling competitions during the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Beijing National Indoor Stadium

The Beijing National Indoor Stadium (国家体育馆) or “the Fan” held the handball, artistic gymnastics and trampolining events. With a capacity of 19,000, it was the main indoor arena used during the Games.

National Speed Skating Oval

The National Speed Skating Oval is an arena that will be built for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Olympic Green Convention Center

The Olympic Green Convention Center, also called the National Convention Center (国家会议中心), held fencing and, the shooting and fencing disciplines of the modern pentathlon. It is also used as the International Broadcast Center and the Main Press Center (for conventions and exhibitions). The center covers an area of 270,000 square meters.

Olympic Green Hockey Field

The Olympic Green Hockey Field hosted the field hockey events. It covered an area of 11.87 hectares (29.3 acres) with 2 courts and could seat 17,000 spectators. It was deconstructed after the Games.

Olympic Green Archery Field

The Olympic Green Archery Field hosted the archery events. The field occupied 9.22 hectares (22.8 acres) and had a capacity of 5,000. It was dismantled after the Games.

Olympic Green Tennis Center

The Olympic Green Tennis Center (北京奥林匹克公园网球场) hosted the tennis and wheelchair tennis events. It has 16 courts (10 competition, 6 practice) and a capacity of 17,400. It opened on October 1, 2007.

Promenade

The park itself, outside of the venues constructed on the Olympic Green, hosted some of the athletic events at the 2008 Games. These included the racewalk events, where the loops occurred on the Olympic Green, and the portion of the marathons just outside the National Stadium.

Other parts

Olympic Village

The Beijing Olympic Village housed all the participating athletes. The village is made up of 22 6-story buildings and 20 9-story buildings.

Digital Beijing Building

The Digital Beijing Building served during the Games as the data center. It was the only building on the Green at the time of the Olympics that was not an event venue. Since then it has been converted into a museum of the Digital Olympics and exhibition space for digital technology companies.

Chinese architect Pei Zhu designed the distinctive 57-metre-high (187 ft), 11-story building near the Aquatic Centre and Convention Center. At the time of the Games, it was the only major facility designed by a Chinese architect. It is meant to explore the relationship between digital forms and traditional Chinese aesthetics, meant to evoke a microchip from two of its façades and a bar code from the other two.

Ling Long Pagoda

The Ling Long Pagoda or Linglong Tower (Multifunctional Studio Tower) (玲珑塔) houses a part of the International Broadcast Center (IBC). It is located near the 2008 Summer Olympics cauldron, on the northwest side of the Bird’s Nest Stadium.

Beijing Olympic Tower

Completed and opened in 2014, the 246.8-metre-tall (810 ft) Beijing Olympic Tower’s five circular roofs are meant to evoke the Olympic rings; although it has also been described as “a huge nail”. The design of the towers themselves were inspired by blades of grass. It is the sixth tallest observation tower in China and the 22nd highest in the world. Visitors can look out over the park and the entire city of Beijing from all five platforms, ranging from 186 to 243 metres (610 to 797 ft) in height.

Travel Information of Beijing Olympic Green

Opening Hours and Entry Fees

Beijing National Stadium 50 yuan April–October: 9am–7pm November–March: 9am–5:30pm
The Beijing National Aquatics Center 30 yuan May–October: 9am–8pm November–April: 9am–8pm
The Olympic Forest Park Free March 15 – November 15: 6am–9pm November 16 – March 14: 7am–7pm
Beijing National Indoor Stadium 20 yuan April–October: 9am–7pm November–March: 9am–5:30pm

How to get to the Olympic Park

By Subway

  • Take Subway Line 8 and get off at Lincuiqiao, Senlin Gongyuan Nanmen (Forest Park South Gate), Aolin Pike Gongyuan (Olympic Park), Aoti Zhongxin (Olympic Sports Center) or Beitucheng Station. (Note: Lincuiqiao Station is close to the west gate of the Olympic Forest Park and Beitucheng Station is near the China Ethnic Culture Park.)
  • Take Subway Line 15 and get off at Aolin Pike Gongyuan Station.
  • Take Subway Line 10 and get off at Beitucheng Station.

By Bus

  • Take bus 82, 419, 538, or 645 and get off at Guojia Tiyuchang Dong (Bird’s Nest) Station.
  • Take bus 81, 82, 86, 510, 607 or Special Line 13 or 15 and get off at Guojia Tiyuguan (National Indoor Stadium) Station.
  • Take bus 81, 379, 510 or Special Line 44 and get off at Subway Lincuiqiao Station or Aolin Chuntian Xiaoqu Station to go to the Forest Park. Enter from the west gate of the Northern Garden of the Forest Park.

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Edited by  Lynette Fu/付云锐