Water Cube logo (Photo credit: Cheng Gong)

Membrane structure of the ceiling (Photo credit: Cheng Gong)

The National Aquatics Center, or simply the "Water Cube," a blue palatial structure with an area of 80,000 sq m, was completed January 28, 2008. It is situated to the east of Beichen West Bridge on the North Fourth Ring Road and to the west of National Stadium. Underneath a pure and simple facade, this translucent building embodies a complex and unrestricted framework as well as environmentally advanced technology. It is a class piece of Olympic architecture that has become a landmark structure.

Bubble-design wall at the entrance (Photo credit: Cheng Gong)

Chinese swimmer warming up (Photo credit: Cheng Gong)