Beijing’s Olympic Venues & Notable Sites

Leading up to the Summer Games, Beijing has seen a building boom that has added new buildings, stadiums and structures to the city. Take a look at some of the key sites.

Twice the size of the Pentagon, Beijing airport’s newly built Terminal 3 is the largest building in the world. Constructed in four years, Terminal 3 can handle 50 million passengers a year.

This stadium, built to seat 12,200 spectators, will host the beach volleyball competitions. The volleyball grounds is filled with about 17,000 tons of sand that was imported from Hainan Island, located in the South China Sea.

The unusually shaped building, located in Beijing, will be the future headquarters of China Central Television. The building is expected to be completed by December 2009.

The stadium, nicknamed the "Bird’s Nest," is home to the opening and closing ceremonies as well as many athletic events. The stadium can seat up to 91,000 people. 

This venue will house the wrestling competitions. It will seat 8,500 people during the Olympic games. After the games the gym will serve students of the university and those in the community.

The opera house, nicknamed "The Egg," is a titanium and glass structure used for operas, ballets and concerts. The center, which has three different halls, is surrounded by an artificial lake.

Built for water sports like swimming and diving, the venue has been nicknamed the "Water Cube." It was designed to collect rainwater and recycle some 140,000 tons of water that would have gone to waste.

Field hockey events will be held at this stadium, which has the capacity to hold 12,000 spectators.

The Olympic tennis court has been built with energy efficiency in mind. The venue utilizes a zero-discharge sewage treatment method that treats sewage and recycles it into non-drinking water. The design of the building promotes natural ventilation to keep the players and 17,400 spectators cool.

The park will be home to rowing, canoeing, kayaking and marathon swimming events. After the Olympics, the park will be turned into a swimming and recreation resort.

As tourists pour into Beijing, Tiananmen Square will most likely be a major stop and gathering point. Government officials already said that tourists would have to go through a security check before entering the square.