Water Cube, National Aquatics Center - a Modern Masterpiece

As the host city of the 2008 Olympic Games it comes as no surprise that Beijing has a variety of sporting options for both locals and the multitude of foreign visitors it attracts each year. Popular facilities include such sports as football, basketball, tennis, squash and table tennis. For those in excellent physical condition options like rock-climbing, horseback riding, diving and bungee-jumping are available. Less demanding pursuits such as golf, bowling and billiards are also on offer.

The Beijing National Aquatics Center, referred to unofficially as the Water Cube, is a magnificent state-of-the-art complex for swimming and water sports, originally constructed to host the swimming, synchronized swimming and diving competitions of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The building which has a cuboid structure was one of the most imposing structures constructed for the Olympics.

The design for the Water Cube was selected from no less than 10 proposals submitted by leading international architectural specialists, and incorporates Chinese symbolism in the design. The Chinese experts felt that the design featuring a cube was in keeping with Chinese cultural tradition, and the Australian design firm chosen for the project suggested the concept of covering the surface of the cube with a bubble-like effect, which is a symbol for the element of water.

The walls of the arena consist of 3,500 'bubbles', which are formed of a cushion-like plastic substance composed of a special transparent Teflon material. At night the lighting system at the arena transforms the site into a vibrant colourful display.

Interestingly the Water Cube Olympic pool is considered to be the fastest of its kind in the world, assisting the swimmers with extra depth and featuring special gutters at the sides to absorb waves created by the swimmers.

Having successfully accomplished its mission at the Olympics, the Water Cube is now being transformed into a water park.

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