National Stadium

The Birdnest, also known as the Beijing National Stadium is currently under construction and set to be one of the main venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. It was designed by Chinese contemporary artist Ai Wei Wei and is set to cost $423 million USD. The name Birdnest comes from the fact that the stadium itself takes the form of a birdnest. For more information, read the Beijing National Stadium article on Wikipedia.

Construction is set to finish this year, so if you are in Beijing or planning to visit soon, you should check out the construction site before it’s too late.

Travel Directions

Before leaving, I looked on the map and thought it would be close to the subway station Andingmen. Once I was in Andingmen, I walked north for over 3 kilometers and 1 hour in the hot scorching sun, on an empty stomach. This is definitely not recommended. Instead, take a taxi from Andingmen station heading north to the Birdnest (Niao Chao in Mandarin). The taxi fare shouldn’t cost much more than 20 CNY (approx. $3 USD) one way.

You might want to not get off the taxi, because as of currently, you are not allowed to enter the construction site.

Video of the National Stadium Construction Site

I was well prepared and brought my digital camera, so below is a video of what I saw when I visited the Beijing National Stadium Construction Site.