Along the lakeside, rows of willow trees follow along the shoreline, interrupted only by a marble arched bridge leading to a small island and a few pagodas and lily ponds...typical Chinese stuff. Sitting majestically at the North end of the lake is the main temple and a few surrounding structures with regal names like Cloud Dispelling Hall, Buddhist Fragrance Pavilion, Dragon King Temple and the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity. On top of the wooded, lakeside hill is another stepped pagoda, watching over things. Getting away from the North end and the tour groups, I actually did manage to find some serenity in the park, wandering along the South banks (though I did stop for a picture from some gringo admiring fans on the small island before moving on). From there, I found a series of narrow land bridges, covered in greenery, connected to one another by a string of unique arched and stepped bridges, often containing a mini-temple along the way: a templette, if you will. Simply walking beneath the shade of the trees, surrounded on both sides by the lake, I was able to take a break from the boisterous city and my lack of language skills. Eventually, I came back upon the North side, finding myself back among the crowds, walking through a long covered corridor covered in intricate paintings along the ceiling, rafters and beams, containing something like 7,000 different scenes (this number varies depending on which tour guide you hear). Having enough of the tranquility, I left the park in search of something completely different.
Not wanting to miss the excitement, I took a city bus over to the Olympic Stadium, hoping to be able to buy a ticket from scalpers for an inside look at the Bird's Nest. Thinking I'd be able to at least get up to the arena for a closer look, I finished my water and gave my pack of fake Ritz crackers to a homeless guy near the gate, ready to comply with the no outside food rules and security check. As I soon realized, the whole area is fenced off for a good reason, requiring a ticket to even get close to the stadium or adjacent Water Cube. So, I doubled back, looking for the kind of shady guys that typically sell tickets outside these events. At first, I could only find one guy fitting the profile, and he was trying to charge me Y600 ($90) for a ticket with a face value of Y50 ($7). I obviously kept walking, with my new buddy following along 10 paces behind me, every once in a while dropping his price a bit, still way more than I wanted to pay. Circling back again, I found a few more new friends, and I began to negotiate. After ten minutes of back and forth, I finally got the price down toY100, still too much to pay, but I was ready to just get in, as the events for the evening session had just started. He discretely handed me a folded newspaper, inside which he had placed the ticket. I examined it for a while, trying to make sure it wasn't fake, though I had no idea what a real ticket actually looked like. I found a few nicely inlaid logos, checked the date and time of the ticket about 10 times, and then handed over the money. Moments later, I was back in line for the security check, trying to get a look at the tickets of the other spectators. I noticed that mine did not have a big black circle on the side that some others did, but I also saw a few different versions, so I hoped I would be fine. At the front of the line, an electronic scanner stood, flashing green light after green light as the worker passed the tickets through, one by one. At this point, I was fairly confident with the look of my ticket, though I was still a bit nervous about the scanner. My group of three finally went through: green, green, red. So, after all that examination, mine was definitely a fake which I guess isn't all that surprising in a land of fake merchandise. In that instant, I didn't know what to do. Not at all affected by the determination, the nice young ticket woman simply looked up at me, smiled and said "No problem." Judging by her reaction, this isn't uncommon, so she let me through with my bogus general admission ticket, and I was in.
Entering the complex, the first sight is the massive, mangled metal beams that weave in and out seemingly randomly, forming the oval perimeter of the Olympic Stadium, appropriately nicknamed the Bird's Nest. Having seen it on tv over and over, I was still impressed by the creative, unusual design used for the structure. Stretching all around the stadium is a massive concrete plaza, filled with visitors taking pictures, buying balloons, playing with the Olympic mascots and running in and out of the water fountains spraying from the ground level in alternating patterns. On the other side of the large plaza, I saw the familiar bubble type design of the aquatic events, the Water Cube. Another unique concept, this square building is covered in a light, almost translucent blue, made up of thousands of small circles, hexagons and other shapes. Once night fell, the Water Cube lit up in varying shades of blue, red, purple, yellow and green, offering different color schemes every minute or two. Ready for the main event, I headed into the Bird's Nest, taking a while to find an open seat in the upper level of the huge place. The stadium was full of excitement, featuring a few races (some with wheelchairs), javelin (in which China set a world record), and some other preliminary events. The acoustics are also impressive, with the whole place abuzz with cheers and screams throughout each race. I had initially not even wanted to come to the Olympics or Paralympics, but I was certainly glad I did. The whole atmosphere was incredible, full of noise and excitement, particularly when the Chinese competed, and I even had a chance to move down to the front row and field level for the last race of the night. Following the events, I followed the masses back to the newly built subway, finishing my stay in Beijing with a good day of sights and sports. Soon, I'd be off to Mongolia, a vastly different experience than that of China's two most well-known cities.
(The Summer Palace, surrounded by willow trees and a nice lake.)
(Another of my adoring fans - not the best picture, but I have to cherish these moments when they happen.)
(The serene walkway along the land bridges through the lake of the Summer Palace.)
(Once again, the Summer Palace.)
(At the Bird's Nest, following a near fiasco with the counterfeit ticket.)
(Nice architecture...looks more like a bird's nest to me...oh wait, I get it now.)
(Inside the stadium, the mood was electric. The guitar was also electric when they played random hits of the 80s over the loud speaker to pump up the crowd, followed by the wave.)
(Leaving the stadium, there were some nice views of the night, along with people playing in the fountains. I think they stole that idea from Centennial Park in Atlanta. Chinese thieves.)
(Some of the many colors of the Water Cube, adjacent to the Bird's Nest, though I couldn't actually get past the gate without a ticket to the swimming events. I guess I could have tried to make a counterfeit one, given my luck with the other fake ticket.)
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