Olympic Venues open during National Day Holiday

Olympic Venues Open During National Day Holiday




With the arrival of the National Day holiday on Monday the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) will open to the public at a cost of 50RMB.

The National Swimming Center (Water Cube) will open at a cost of 30RMB. There will be 80 000 tickets available on a daily basis for the National Stadium and 12 000 tickets for the Water Cube.


Ticket details: 010 65388359



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Beijing 2008 Paralympics Medal Table

Beijing 2008 Paralympics Medal Table

China topped the Beijing 2008 Paralympics Medal Table by some distance winning 211 medals including a whopping 89 golds.

Great Britain was second, following on from the country's good medal performance at the Beijing Olympics and the USA was third.

Position Country Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 China 89 70 52 211
2 Great Britain 42 29 31 102
3 United States 36 35 28 99
4 Ukraine 24 18 32 74
5 Australia 23 29 27 79
6 South Africa 21 3 6 30
7 Canada 19 10 21 50
8 Russia 18 23 22 63
10 Brazil 16 14 17 47
9 Spain 15 21 22 58
11 Germany 14 25 20 59
12 France 12 21 19 52
13 South Korea 10 8 13 31
15 Mexico 10 3 7 20
14 Tunisia 9 9 3 21
16 Czech Republic 6 3 18 27
18 Japan 5 14 8 27
17 Poland 5 12 13 30
19 Netherlands 5 10 7 22
20 Greece 5 9 10 24
21 Belarus 5 7 1 13
22 Iran 5 6 3 14
23 Cuba 5 3 6 14
24 New Zealand 5 3 4 12
24 Sweden 5 3 4 12
27 Hong Kong 5 3 3 11
26 Kenya 5 3 1 9
28 Italy 4 7 7 18
29 Egypt 4 4 4 12
30 Nigeria 4 4 1 9
31 Algeria 4 3 8 15
32 Morocco 4 1 2 7
34 Austria 4 1 1 6
39 Switzerland 3 2 6 11
33 Denmark 3 2 4 9
34 Ireland 3 1 1 5
36 Croatia 3 1 0 4
37 Azerbaijan 2 3 5 10
38 Slovakia 2 3 1 6
40 Finland 2 2 2 6
41 Thailand 1 5 7 13
42 Portugal 1 4 2 7
43 Norway 1 3 3 7
44 Cyprus 1 2 1 4
45 Latvia 1 2 0 3
46 Singapore 1 1 2 4
46 Venezuela 1 1 2 4
48 Saudi Arabia 1 1 0 2
49 Hungary 1 0 5 6
50 Chinese Taipei 1 0 1 2
50 Turkey 1 0 1 2
52 Mongolia 1 0 0 1
53 Israel 0 5 1 6
54 Angola 0 3 0 3
55 Jordan 0 2 2 4
56 Lithuania 0 2 0 2
56 Serbia 0 2 0 2
58 Argentina 0 1 5 6
59 Slovenia 0 1 2 3
60 Bulgaria 0 1 1 2
68 Colombia 0 1 1 2
60 Iraq 0 1 1 2
62 Bosnia-Hercegovina 0 1 0 1
62 Pakistan 0 1 0 1
62 Papua New Guinea 0 1 0 1
62 Romania 0 1 0 1
62 United Arab Emirates 0 1 0 1
67 Lebanon 0 0 2 2
68 Belgium 0 0 1 1
68 Estonia 0 0 1 1
68 Jamaica 0 0 1 1
68 Lao PDR 0 0 1 1
68 Malaysia 0 0 1 1
68 Namibia 0 0 1 1
68 Puerto Rico 0 0 1 1
68 Syria 0 0 1 1

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Beijing Paralympics Opening Ceremony

Beijing Paralympics Opening Ceremony

See a video of the Beijing Paralympics Opening Ceremony.



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Music Festivals in Beijing

Music Festivals in Beijing

See a listing of music festivals in Beijing.

Modern Sky Festival
From September 30th to October 2nd the Modern Sky Festival will take place at Haidian Park. The festival includes 68 different domestic rock stars and bands performing on 3 different stages within the park.

Famous names from Chinese Rock in the 1980’s like Zhang Chu and He Yong have been invited to perform. Zhang will perform on the first day on the main stage and include one of his classic songs “Sister” a song reflecting child abuse through the eyes of a child. Other bands involved in the festival include Carsick Cars who have performed internationally.

The Modern Sky Festival coincides with the National Day holiday here in China.

Location: Haidian Park, 2 Xinjiangongmen Lu, Haidian
Admission: 60RMB per day
Buses: 302, 904, 933, Yuntong108 to Furongli, or take 740, 735, 835 or 983 to Haidian Qiao.
Subway: Bagou
Telephone: 5123 3866

Midi Music Festival
At the same time the Midi Music Festival will kick off in venues like the Olympic Sports Center Stadium and bars including Star Live, Yugongyishan, Mao Live House, New Lucky Bar, 13Club, D22 and Jiangjinjiu Bar.

The Midi Festival will include 10 foreign bands and artists singing on 6 stages at Olympic Sports Center Stadium, just by the corner of the 4th Ring Road and Anding Lu. Music will include rock ‘n’ roll, hip hop, folk and experimental styles.

The stadium holds 40,000 people while smaller stages will be located around the stadium.

Location: Olympic Sports Center Stadium, 1 Anding Lu, Anwai Xiaoguan, Chaoyang.
September 29th to October 2nd
Admission: 50RMB or 150RMB for 4 days.
Buses: 328, 358, 858 and get off at Aotidongmen Station
Subway: Line 10, Anzhenmen, Exit B
Telephone: 8299 4973

© Beijing-Visitor.com

Art Extravaganza!

Rook: Art Extravaganza!


You are cordially invited to take part in

ROOK - A site specific performance by Dutch artist Peter Vink specially conceived for The Liquor Factory, Beijing

F6 - A site specific project by Dutch artist Peter Vink specially conceived for The Liquor Factory, Beijing

Location: The Liquor Factory, Beijing
Address: No F6, Jiuchang Art Complex, Beihuqu Road, Anwaibeiyuan Street, Chaoyang
District, Beijing, 100012
地址：北京朝阳区北湖渠安外北苑酒厂国际艺术园F6

Opening: September 20，2008
Time: 3 pm. Please come 3 p.m. sharp if you want to see the one time event "ROOK". Be on time!

F6 Exhibition： 2008.09.20 – 2008.10.20
Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11 am to 6 pm

Sponsors: The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture, Xiao Yong Studio, Beijing Liquor Factory Art Complex, Platform China

For more information about the project please visit: http://www.petervink.cn or contact Peter Vink: 0086 150 1090 1055; Liu Gang: 0086 131 46233877 (assistant of Peter Vink)

Peter Vink (1974) is a Dutch visual artist based in Amsterdam, and now spending 6 months in Beijing as an artist in residence at Platform China Art Institute. The core of his artistic research lies in investigating and challenging the common notion of space as well as the artistic potential it releases when the artist uses it as a setting of his site specific works.

The manner in which space is activated by the artistic gesture, the redefinition of its identity, its shift from an ordinary to a fictionalized entity are all issues on the artistic agenda of Vink, an artist who allows no "ready-made" solutions but always engages in analyzing the specificity of every kind of space. This artistic intervention specially conceived for the Liquor Factory is an example of the artist's ability to redesign and at some extent direct space.

As in the other works by Vink, also in this case the physical space far from being a passive backdrop is transformed into the site where the real action takes place; it plays the leading role in the piece and thus transcends its triviality.



© Beijing-Visitor.com

Sunset over Paralympic Flame

Sunset over Paralympic Flame

See an image of the sunset over the Paralympic flame in Beijing.



Hotels in Beijing

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Mid Autumn Festival in Beijing China

Mid Autumn Festival in Beijing China

China's Mid Autumn Festival was celebrated on 14th September this year. Visitors will not only notice temperatures moderating as summer starts to wane, but will see locals loaded with beautiful looking bags and boxes exquisitely decorated as they exit crowded shopping centers.



It is traditional for families to come together at this time of year. In China the full moon has always been a time for family gatherings. Some families visit local parks to view the moon, enjoy the cool night air, pray for a good year ahead and share mooncakes. The tradition is said to have started with the ancient ceremony of sacrificing to the Moon Goddess.

These days mooncakes come in many shapes and flavours. There are snowy mooncakes filled with mung bean paste, tea moon cakes containing tea and fruit combinations like black tea and lychee, tea and pomelo, green tea and plum or butter tea. Other harder to find mooncakes contain chocolate with hazelnut, kumquat paste, milk and egg yolk and even plum. Many of the more traditional mooncakes contain red bean paste. Those who make their own mooncakes buy the traditional wooden moulds seen from time to time in local markets.


To help people celebrate this age old tradition the government has declared Monday 15th September a public holiday.

Markets in Beijing

Panjiayuan Market

Yashow Market

Read more on Beijing Cloisonne

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Hanoi Opera House Vietnam

Hanoi Opera House Vietnam

Built by the French between 1901 and 1911 in Hanoi, the Hanoi Opera House is one of the city's most famous landmarks.



The building is of historical importance as in August 1945 the Viet Minh communists announced from the main balcony of the building that they had assumed control over the city.

The Opera House is modeled on the Palais Garnier in Paris.

Access - Getting There

Hanoi Opera House
1 Trang Tien street
Tel: 84 04 9330113

Image © Daniel Allen

Hotels in Hanoi

Sofitel Metropole Hanoi

Sofitel Metropole Hanoi

The Sofitel Metropole Hotel (Book this hotel with Agoda) in Hanoi is a 363-room, 5-star hotel located in the east of the city.

The French colonial-style hotel is one of the places to stay in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital.

Built in 1901, the hotel features a beautiful garden and an excellent French restaurant and has been frequented by heads of state, artists and writers throughout its long history.



Image © Daniel Allen

Access - Getting There

Sofitel Metropole Hanoi Hotel Hanoi
15 Ngo Quyen Street, Hanoi, Vietnam

Hotels in Hanoi

Beijing Olympic Traffic Restrictions Again

Beijing Olympic Traffic Restrictions

With traffic on Beijing’s previously overcrowded roads now moving freely there has been much debate about the idea of keeping the odds and evens vehicle use law in place permanently.

Website forums are awash with tens of thousands of people debating the traffic regulation. Many concede it will help improve Beijing’s air quality and traffic movements, however it is also pointed out that most of Beijing’s pollution comes from the factories.

Beijing Olympic Traffic Restrictions

Whatever the outcome it is exciting to see so many people concerned to improve the environmental conditions in Beijing. The city has been a beautiful place to visit and live during the Olympic and Paralympic period.

Do note that with the opening of the Paralympics tonight that tight traffic control measures are in place around Olympic Park. Expect the same conditions for the closing ceremony.



© Beijing-Visitor.com

Olympic flame ready for Paralympics

Olympic flame ready for Paralympics


Turns out that the Olympic flame must have been on its side for maintenance as this morning the base was once again upright!

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