Beijing National Stadium

-Known as 'Bird's Nest' due to its unique architectural characteristics

-Events:

• 2008 Summer Olympics

• 2008 Summer Paralympics

-What does it mean to me

• highly popular tourist attraction, receiving thousands of visitors abroad and across China every year

• various sporting and social events such as football matches and concerts are held in the stadium

-What does it mean to China

• an icon for China and the city of Beijing

• the stadium represents the modern and constantly changing side of the country

• link to its cultural heritage

-History of China

• related to the Chinese traditions and cultures

-> circular form represents Heaven in ancient Chinese cosmology

-> adjacent square represents Chinese symbol for Earth

-Belief System

• Chinese believe in Feng Shui '风水'

• stadium symbolizes good luck, representing the ancient Chinese saying that the sky is round and the earth is square

-Lessons learnt

• Chinese believe that everything around us has Chi, which means energy so Feng Shui is applied to balance the Chi so as to bring about better luck and happiness

• Chinese are superstitious because Feng Shui is not scientifically proven and it is just a belief

-Kah Ghee (15)