Today we saw the Olympic stadiums from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and were incredibly impressed, especially with the Bird’s Nest. The Bird’s Nest was and absolutely incredibly steel structure, meticulously constructed to used the least amount of steel possible while maintaining the design. It stayed true to its name, and looks exactly like a birds nest from afar. The inside of the structure was no less impressive, as you could see almost every other seat in the stadium except for the ones below or above you, and every seat had a fantastic view of the field. They had even hired a tightrope walker to just cross the gap of the opening in the stadium over and over again. Watching this man was exciting at first, but eventually he sank into the background and was largely ignored. This incredible feat of engineering was a highlight of the Olympics, and continues to be an amazing structure on the Beijing horizon.
Unfortunately, when we visited the Water Cube was under construction, and we could not go inside, but the view from the outside showed the building uniqueness. The entire building looks like bubbles in water, and is apparently lit up at night to highlight this feature.
Once we got back on the bus, we went to a special restaurant for our taste of the famous Peking duck. It was set up again like the traditional meals that we had been having throughout our time in Beijing with the exception the duck was the center of attention. We were served almost every piece of the two ducks that were prepared for our table, and the part we didn’t eat were used to make the broth for a soup we were later served. The meat itself was superb and juicy, but I did not care for the skin it was served with. Overall the meal was very satisfying, and I’m keeping the postcard with the ID number of our duck as a souvenir.
After returning to the hotel, we got dressed for our next company visit, Lenovo. After arriving at the wrong building and eventually finding the right one, we began the tour. Unlike the previous two visits, Lenovo was not only prepared, but had two very large showrooms specifically designated for tours and showing products. The tour was amazing from the start, the guide spoke perfect English and spoke clearly and loudly. The most interesting things from the tour were the innovative products themselves, as the fact that the company that later became Lenovo was the first company to create a computer that could operate in Chinese characters, opening up the Chinese markets to the industrial and personal advantages that the computer would bring. This important invention laid the foundations for all East Asian ability to participate in the new global market, without it there would have been no operable computers here. China and Japan would not be anywhere as near as powerful as they are today. It is important to not only recognize the engineering achievements that went in to creating this product, but the huge business significance as well. Not to mention their modern laptops are very cool as well, and I will highly consider buying a Lenovo when I replace my current laptop.