Beijing: Our Foray into the Watercube

If I've been a bit remiss in posting about the actual events we've been busy attending, I apologize. My feeling is that you can easily find infinitely better events coverage than I can offer; better photography, expert commentary and all the benefits of professional editing techniques. In fact, you may even be sick of the Olympics by now. So I've focused on showing you the Beijing you won't be seeing on your television set. But I do want to tell you a bit about our trip to the Water Cube.

We watched a women's springboard diving semifinal in this marvelous building (which will later be converted into that highest temple of New China: A Shopping Mall). Did you know that the plastic fibers covering the cube are only 1/125th of an inch thick? And that they allow in more light, reducing energy costs?

All this is fascinating of course, but the Water Cube really shines at night. It changes colors!



And the inside is quite fetching too!


There are tickets available to go and admire the green without going in to an event and lots of folks are milling about throughout the day posing for photos and playing in the fountains that line the walkway from the Water Cube to the Bird's Nest. I didn't get the photos I'd hoped to, but the Chinese have really put on a beautiful games.