Beijing National Stadium

Beijing National Stadium, also nicknamed as the "Bird's Nest", is a stadium in Beijing, China. The stadium was designed for use throughout the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. It hosts the opening and closing ceremonies of the 29th Olympiad, as well as athletic track and field events. The Stadium is located in the Olympic Green, the focal point for the Beijing Games.

Beijing National Stadium was designed and built jointly by among architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of Herzog & de Meuron, project architect Stefan Marbach, Li Xinggang and others. It was designed to incorporate elements of Chinese art and culture. In shape, the whole architecture looks like the nest for life gestation. The outer structure of the bird’s nest is made of the huge-size steels. It symbolizes the cradle of human and the hope of human’s future.

Construction work began on the stadium with earthworks and foundations in late 2003 and the main construction work started in March 2004. By August 2004 construction work had been halted due to the perceived high construction costs. The construction of the Olympic stadium resumed at the beginning of 2005; hence the adjustments from the original finishing date of 2006 to the start of 2008. The stadium was opened on 18 April 2008.

The total area of the architecture is 258,000 square meters. During the Olympic Games, it serves as the venue of the opening ceremony, closing ceremony, track and field competition, the final of men football games. It can accept 100,000 spectators at a time, and there are 20,000 temporary seats. After the Olympic Games, it can hold 80,000 people at a time and also capable of holding the high-level sport games.

After the Olympic Games, it become one of the important attractions in Beijing and offers Beijing civilians the place for exercise and leisure.