Travel Report: The Bird’s Nest Air Corridor, Beijing.
The Bird’s Nest Air Corridor.
Want to get the full picture? Before reading this why not start with my article:
The Bird’s Nest Stadium, Beijing.
September 2018. I hadn’t been aware there was an Air Corridor at The Bird’s Nest. Or even a Top Wonder, as whoever came up with the idea seems to have had trouble settling on just one name. It was only at the ticket booth back down on the Olympic Green that I realized entry to the stadium offered both standard (60RMB) and VIP access (110RMB). Figuring the difference wasn’t that much, I thought what the heck and went for the combo ticket. Having explored the stadium itself to my heart’s content, it was finally time to take the elevator up to the Air Corridor/Top Wonder/whatever. When the doors finally whooshed open, I found myself at the mouth of a one thousand meter steel skywalk!
The Bird’s Nest Air Corridor, Beijing.
From there all that’s left to do is take a leisurely stroll through the mass of metal and enjoy some choice angles of the Beijing skyline. The wobbly looking building just about cutting its way through the afternoon smog is the IBM Tower. It’s a twenty five-story skyscraper with a distinctive dragon head-shaped roof!
Looking down at the stadium from the corridor.
The Bird’s Nest Air Corridor.
The Bird’s Nest Air Corridor also provides an overview of the arena too, though most of the pitch is out of view. Unless that is you dare to step onto one of the metal bars, hoist yourself up and crane your neck. This was a bit of a blunder from Air Corridor/Top Wonder HQ, as they could have provided a perfect birds-eye view of the pitch had they built their skywalk just a little higher. Must. Do. Better.
The Bird’s Nest Air Corridor, Beijing.
The skywalk served as a perfect opportunity to remind me of Beijing’s horrific pollution levels and indeed this would hardly be classed as a particularly bad day. When I lived here I remember waking up some mornings and being able to literally taste the pollution. On such days I’d feel drowsy as hell, with red eyes, a desert dry throat and a slight headache. Still, the smog that afternoon atop The Bird’s Nest couldn’t quite destroy a very decent panoramic of The Olympic Green and the sky-piercing observation decks of The Olympic Tower.
The Bird’s Nest Top Wonder.
The Bird’s Nest Air Corridor, Beijing.
The Air Corridor (I’ll just call it that) is probably worth the extra money if you’re coming to The Bird’s Nest anyway. However, its creators have actually done little to make it special. It’s just an adapted version of the walkway that maintenance staff use to perform their safety checks. In any case it still succeeds in nicely capping off the stadium experience. Furthermore, if you’re lucky enough to come on a rare blue sky day, I imagine the views must be fantastic.
The Bird’s Nest Air Corridor, Beijing.
Like this? Have a leaf through my other articles from Beijing’s Olympic Park and many more from across Beijing.
Want to delve deeper into China’s infinite travel opportunities? Then why not take a look at my reports from all over the country.
Or maybe check out my short story series Challenged In China!
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