PerthNorg

A Night at the Water Cube

Every country has a famous landmark that you just have to visit. London's Big Ben, New York's Empire State Building, Dubai's Burj Al Arab, and I'll stop this list before I get hungry for more travel. But the problem with Beijing is that there are so many new amazing landmarks, it's hard to see them all.

 

Saying that, if we ignore the old-world landmarks -- that I'm lucky enough to have already seen -- I'd have to say that the new National Aquatics Center is the one to see.

 

We all know it now as The Water Cube, the stadium that Aussies designed, because of the bubble exterior. It's pretty spectacular to see, especially from inside. It's light, and parts look like something from a science fiction movie. I half expected to see William Shatner to leap out of a doorway.

 

At night the whole stadium is lit, and can come in different colours, maybe based on  someone's mood. That's when it looks the most amazing. It also has movies projected on to the external walls: fish, divers, coral.

 

The night I attended was a warm night, and right next door they have fountains that squirt water into the air on the opening. The atmosphere was of pure fun, with kids running through the streaming water, and parents taking photos with the Bird's Nest as a backdrop.

Source: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/2756307623_c978da1ec6.jp…