One of Beijing's many beautiful parks, Beihai Park is a peaceful place to stroll, grab a snack, rent a boat, and watch calligraphers practicing characters on the paving slabs with brushes and water. The park was built by the Great Ghengis Khan centuries before the Forbidden City.
The primary venue for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Beijing Olympic Green is located in the northern end of the city’s central axis.
Occupying a total land area of 1,135 hectares, the Olympic Green includes eye-catching monuments and popular sightseeing attractions such as the National Stadium (popularly referred to as the "Bird's Nest") and the National Aquatics Centre (known as the "Watercube").
Other sites in the Olympic Green include a forest park and lakes, the Olympic Village, the Olympics Tennis Courts, the National Indoor Stadium and the China National Convention Centre (CNCC).