Olympic Green is where 50% of the competition venues will be found in 2008, and is located at the north end of the central axis of Beijing City. A forest park, a central area including competition venues, Olympic Village, the Main Press Center (MPC), and the International Broadcasting Center (IBC) and so on for Olympic Games can be found at Olympic Green. There will be several subway stations to connect the Olympic Green and the downtown area. Besides, people can also choose buses, taxis or to drive to Olympic Green.
Altogether 31 venues will be used in Beijing during the 29th Olympiad. Most of them have already been completed, though some are still under construction. An additional six cities, namely Hong Kong, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shenyang and Tianjin, will also co-operate with Beijing to run the Equestrian, Sailing and the Football Preliminaries.
National Stadium, which is nicknamed the Bird's Nest because of the unique design, is located at Olympic Green and covers an area of 258,000 square meters (about 63.8 acres). Designed by the famous Swiss architect Herzog & DeMeuron and China Architecture Design Institute, the construction started in December, 2003 and will have a capacity of 100,000 upon completion. Besides the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, this grand and modern stadium will host Athletics and Football during the Games. This Stadium will be the stage for both national and international sporting events, as well as cultural and entertainment activities after the Olympics. The glittering National Aquatics Center, namely 'H2O3', is another highlight of Olympic Green. It covers an area of more than 65,000 square meters (about 16.1 acres) and have a capacity of 17,000 during the Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, and Synchronized Swimming events. The center has been donated by many Chinese and Chinese associations from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the rest of the world.
