Big cities never lack architectural landmarks. The Sydney Opera House is the best-known landmark of Sydney and even Australia, the Eiffel Tower a truly impressive landmark of Paris and even modern Europe.

Beijing, one of the most populous metropolises in the world, is no exception. The Tiananmen Square, symbol of New China and the venue for national festive gatherings, has been and will be the must-see for any newcomer from other parts of the country to the capital. Yet, the must-see list in the capital has become longer in the Olympic year.

Located in the center of Olympic Green at the north end of the city’s central axis, the National Stadium (known as the Bird’s Nest) and the National Aquatic Center (known as the Water Cube) are the two iconic structures of the Beijing Olympics. Visitors from other parts of the country or the world strive to take a picture with them as a memento.

The National Stadium

As the main venue for the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, the National Stadium impresses people with its pure monstrous scale, complexity, and the unique way the steel supports interweave with one another in much the same way as a bird’s nest is constructed. Each steel support weighs several tons, approximately 42,000 tons of steel are used on this project alone. The spatial effect of the stadium is novel and radical, yet simple and of an almost archaic immediacy, thus creating a unique historical landmark for the Olympics of 2008. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & DeMeuron from Swiss and China Architecture Design Institute, the Bird’s Nest took more than four years (from the end of 2003 to the beginning of 2008) to complete and was selected as one of the top ten architectural miracles in the world by Time magazine in 2007.

The National Aquatic Center

Compared to the elliptic steel-framed stadium, the rectangular National Aquatic Center, located alongside the National Stadium, appears more light and tender, and presents a beautifully sharp visual contrast. Made of concrete and steel, the Water Cube has a blue-toned outer skin made of a Teflon-like material called ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene or ETFE. In daylight, the Water Cube shines as a blue translucent spectacle; while at night, it looks iridescent, elegant and magic, offering spectators a glowing crystal palace with LED-lit bubbles.