I have been in beijing for 3 weeks now, but i still haven’t really explored the city, so on Saturday i decided to go to on an architectural tour of the city despite of the unbearable heat. First stop, Olympic Park.
The birdnest is located on the third ring, and it’s almost surreal how close it is to the surrounding commercial buildings and streets. This stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 olympics, and the venue itself is just as amazing as the shows it puts on. It is complex but orderly, bold but delicate, gestural but practical.
Adjacent to the birdnest is the water cube. I was pretty bummed that the place is under renovation so i couldn’t go inside to take a better look. But at night, from my apartment, i can see the sky in the distance lit up with from the colorful lights inside the water cube. One thing unfortunate about beijing is that its prone to dust storms, so a lot of the buildings tend to look very dusty and worn out. The water cube definitely needs to a good water down.
All throughout olympic park, there is a strong effort to mix the old and traditional with the new and modern like this wall of chinese drums.
Next stop, CCTV tower by OMA. This building is somewhat smaller than i what i had expected. Although most locals despise the design, i think Rem Koolhaas has cleverly managed to make this monstrous skyscraper look light and elegant. Like a piece of iron, it evokes a sense of industrialism that is appropriate in this society.
In the evening, i met up with a few friends at Salitun Village to get some mexican food. Salitun Village is a very trendy shopping center in the bar district where a lot of international people hang out. Maybe it’s the whole atmosphere, but the people there are definitely better looking and you wont find any girls with armpit hair there.
The restaurant was called the saddle cantina, and it’s tucked inside an european style court-yard. It has a big patio area connected to a rooftop bar called Kokomo. Not only was the place cool, the food was also delicious. Chinese people really understand the art of dining.
If new york is the city that never sleeps, then beijing has a serious case of insomnia. Because everyone stays out until 5 am, we lost track of time and had a prolonged dinner well past midnight. From what i hear from my coworkers, barcelona also runs on the same clock, so i really need to quickly condition my body to this new lifestyle.
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