April 22-28, 2010
Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China, is the nation's political, economic, cultural, educational and international trade and communication center. Located in northern China, close to the port city of Tianjin and partially surrounded by Hebei Province, Beijing also serves as the most important transportation hub and port of entry in China.
Beijing, one of the six ancient cities in China, has been the heart and soul of politics and society throughout its long history and consequently there is an unparalleled wealth of discovery to delight and intrigue travelers as they explore Beijing's ancient past and exciting modern development. Now it has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, with about 140 million Chinese tourists and 4.4 million international visitors in a year.
The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching approximately 8,851.8 kilometers (5,500 miles) from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the sections are now in ruins or have disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance
China's National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, as it has become known, is the world's largest steel structure and the most complex stadium ever constructed. Its design had to be inspiring and be able to withstand an earthquake. So 'light weight' was combined with strength in 110 000 tons of a new grade of steel, the purest ever developed in China, including 36km of steel struts. It is "one of the key engineering marvels in the world today."
China's National Stadium is located on the Olympic Green about 8km from the center of Beijing. As a testament to its significance, it's on the city's north-south axis, which also includes the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Temple of Heaven, travelling south. It was a demonstration to the world that China is a world class economic power.
The Bird's Nest was the main venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, when it had a capacity of 91 000 spectators. The stadium now has a capacity of 80 000, as temporary Olympic seating has been removed. It was designed by Swiss Architects, Herzog & de Meuron, and Chinese Architect, Li Xinggang, and is shaped like a cradle, but its interlocking steel members, like a latticework of twigs, make the name Bird's Nest an obvious alias. The design came from the idea of a single thread wrapped round a ball. Layers of logical geometry give the appearance of randomness and the organic shape of the structure.
The Bird's Nest hosted the opening ceremony, athletic events, the football final and the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which took place from August 8 to August 24, 2008. It was also the venue for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics athletics and ceremonies from September 6 to September 17, 2008. The stadium will continue to host international and domestic sporting events, such as football matches.
Piles 37m below ground level were required to bear the weight and horizontal forces generated by the structure. Grouting techniques were used to strengthen the ground around the piles, pumping concrete down through the pile cores, making the piles like giant bulbs of reinforced concrete in the ground. Then the functional inner body of the stadium was put in place. 14700 precast concrete slabs all formed within 2mm tolerance to hold the seating were slotted together. Then followed the 24 anchor points for the columns, 100 tons each. Each column is 1000 tons with no lifting equipment able to lift it.
An international steel shortage meant that the idea for a retractable roof was scrapped, saving 50M USD. A new grade of steel had to be produced to withstand pulling forces within the structure without the addition of extra columns, which would block spectators' views. The purest steel ever developed in China allowed the designers of the Bird's Nest to combine light weight with strength to provide maximum resistance to seismic forces. Because of Beijing's location, the stadium had be able to withstand an earthquake. Its low sensitivity to welding, however, meant that welders had to be specially trained to join the interlocking steel sections together, with some welds having to be repeated a number of times to achieved specification strength. The 11200 ton roof was supported by a temporary columns until the moment of truth when the jacks were released and the web of the Bird's Nest held its own weight.
Lying at the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City, called Gu Gong in Chinese, was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace Museum, it is to the north of Tiananmen Square. Rectangular in shape, it is the world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a six meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall are 9,999 rooms. The wall has a gate on each side. Opposite the Tiananmen Gate, to the north is the Gate of Divine Might (Shenwumen), which faces Jingshan Park. The distance between these two gates is 960 meters, while the distance between the gates in the east and west walls is 750 meters. There are unique and delicately structured towers on each of the four corners of the curtain wall. These afford views over both the palace and the city outside.
The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The southern section, or the Outer Court was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The northern section, or the Inner Court was where he lived with his royal family. Until 1924 when the last emperor of China was driven from the Inner Court, fourteen emperors of the Ming dynasty and ten emperors of the Qing dynasty had reigned here. Having been the imperial palace for some five centuries, it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities. Listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987, the Palace Museum is now one of the most popular tourist attractions world-wide.
