Legacy of the Olympics

At a glance on the Beijing map it is clear to see that the complex covers a large area, however it is not until you get there and walk up the subway steps that it hits you… It is, as always in Beijing, there on a grand scale - the boulevard along its centre is at least 20m wide and accommodates lots of open space for people to walk along and be approached by hopeful ‘tat’ salesmen :)
To your right is the Birds nest stadium, which is a wonder of modern engineering and on the cutting edge of architecture rivalling anything that I have seen so far on this trip. The structure itself from afar is breathtaking and as you get nearer the intricacies continue to amaze you - the double layer of steel girders surrounding the arched birds nest shaped stadium are a genius of design. The central area is in continuous use and today saw the turn of the snow zone - the whole inside area was covered in snow with castles and slides - lots of fun for all the family, while the stands were left for the wonder of the tourists (mostly Chinese but I did see one other western couple). The cost of entry to the ‘national stadium’ is £5, but it is worth the views.
Looking to the left there is the water sports complex which looks like a large glass square being filled with soap bubbles. Another amazing piece of architecture to marvel at (for free!) and its secrets are only revealed fully through the rays of the setting sun as it shines through the surface of the south facing walls and shows the steelwork beneath.
Between these two buildings stands the Olympic tower - I think the home to the media during the event? However, it was out of bounds for the public so only pictures are available… The central boulevard pulls me on past many more venues including a skiing run and many beautifully thought out and modelled sculptures, which take time to be taken in on my travels northwards. At times I am faced with the surreal mix of wonderful sculptures and empty space - as the shopping mall which had originally been pride of place has without customers disappeared to be replaced with?? Clearly this needs some extra work although the main stadiums are still put to good use. As I was walking there were clear signs of redevelopment as machines worked to demolish and clear space for the next re-incarnation of the site - I can only wish them good luck and pray that the UK/London learns from China’s experience to make the games of 2012 as much a credit to us as the 2008 Beijing Olympics were to China.
The last stop on my march north is ‘Forest Park’, which in winter is a wonderful site of bare trees covering a solid landscape of earth and ice. Some of the site is under maintenance and being re-developed - however it is possible to walk around most of it in 1 hour and get some wonderful views back to the Olympic zone and the science & technology museum with its huge shiny sphere outside. Today the forest park is all but empty and I find myself in serene isolation for most of the walk enjoying the stillness and clear blue sky :)
In all the entire site is clearly thought out, a pleasure to visit, and is a credit to its designers - however there is only so much you can do with a large sporting venue on the edge of one of the worlds largest cities.