Our days in Beijing were certainly the most activity intensive travels during the program; going from one day of walking around Tiananmen Square and the entire Forbidden City to having to wake up the next morning to scale the Great Wall. Even though I am accustom to running, my legs still ached after the Wall. But that did not stop my excitement to see the famous Bird’s Nest the same day. I initially did not know much about the Bird’s Nest aside from the fact that inside lies the Beijing National Stadium, the track field used for the 2008 Olympics. With my history of being a track runner, seeing this field and the entire arena was breathtaking. The stadium’s unique design separates Chinese architecture from the rest of the world and to me it gives insight to how Chinese culture will spare no expense to have their work recognizable, especially for such an important occasion such as the Olympics.

Alongside our exciting time seeing the Bird’s Nest, we followed it up by seeing one of several water show displays during our stay. This one was brief but I got the chance to capture some nice shots. Overall, the area surrounding Beijing National Stadium was just as interesting as the stadium itself. The only aspect I wish I got to see more of was the Water Cube nearby, but nevertheless this was a well spent day in Beijing.
May 11, 2016