A day at the park

China.org.cn sent me over to the Olympic Green last Wednesday for free. Impressions:

• The Bird’s Nest seems really small from the inside. The track and field were covered up from the concert the night before, so it was hard to imagine how they fit 10,000 athletes on it.
• The Water Cube is the cutest little building. I love their chairs.
• The Green is gorgeous at night when the buildings are all lit up.
• There needs to be more restaurants surrounding the gigantic block.
• China is not ready for Western-style performing arts. They were largely unimpressed with the Swan Lake “ballet” at the Water Cube, with the silly clapping at the end and diabolo performance in the middle.

More in this story I wrote. Pictures in the photo gallery. Clips from Swan Lake at the Water Cube.