With a few days left in China, we made a day trip to Beijing. We got to experience Olympic Park and the 798 Art District. Beijing was a completely different world than Tianjin. It was much bigger, and much more upscale.
Olympic Park is very large, and hard to cover in an hour, so we bought a ticket to see inside the Eagle’s Nest, which is where the track and field competitions took place. It was breathtaking to stand where so many incredible athletes have stood. I got my picture taken touching the track with my foot, of course.
After the Eagle’s Nest, we went across to the Cube– the water complex. Michael Phelps has swam there and I just think that is really cool. We took our share of pictures in there and left to make it back to our meeting place on time. Little did we know, we couldn’t exit where we entered.
We ended up having to exit on the opposite side of the building, and we had to literally sprint back to the meeting place so we wouldn’t get left. Along the way, Evan and I stopped for pictures with a mother and her baby. (I couldn’t pass that up).
We made it back just as our group leader was leaving. We might as well have been on the Olympic track team at that point. It was very interesting to see how the pride of the Chinese people for their culture is not as obvious and strong as we are in America. It was also fascinating to see the wall where all hosts of the Olympics were shown from around the world.
I definitely felt a sense of pride after leaving Olympic Park. I’ve never been so proud to be an American.
We then went to the 798 district which was an art district with shops, coffee houses, eateries, and so many sights to see. It was my favorite part of Beijing. I loved the atmosphere and the Americanized town.
After the trip, I was so excited to head back for the rest of the Beijing experience.
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