The Bird's Nest light show—better late than never to see it.

    I love light shows because, unlike the neon lights in bustling city areas that flaunt the vibrancy of the metropolis and constantly remind people of the fast pace of lifeand rhythm, they are richly meaningful performances. The carefully designed lights and music catch your eye and stir your heart, and after watching a light show, all your worries just melt away. I went to the Bird's Nest yesterday specifically to see the light show.

    I took the subway there and got off at the Olympic Park Station. But if you’re going on your own, either the Olympic Park Station or the Olympic Sports Center Station will work. I heard there are plenty of buses too—if you want to take the bus, you can look it up online. After passing through security, you can see the Bird’s Nest in the distance.

    I bought my ticket at the ticket booth. There are quite a few ticket booths around the Bird’s Nest selling two types of light show tickets: the Bird’s Nest Premium Light Night Tour for 100 RMB and the Bird’s Nest Light Night Tour for 80 RMB. Since I’d never been to the premium area before, I bought the premium ticket.

When entering, please pay attention to the entrance locations—premium ticket holders enter from the west side entrance of the Bird’s Nest, while regular ticket holders go in through the KL entrance.

The night session only starts letting people in at 7 PM. Since I arrived a bit early, I took some photos nearby. Here are people resting under a pavilion.

Those who don’t want to walk can also take a shuttle bus to quickly tour the area.

There are also rest service areas near the Bird’s Nest BC and CD entrances where you can sit at tables, have some snacks, or drink a bottle of yogurt.　　

At 7 PM, visitors lined up for ticket checks. There were a lot of people that day—young and old alike. Children under 1.2 meters and seniors over 70 get in for free.

As soon as I went in, the lighting inside felt very mysterious, and I couldn't wait to explore further.

After entering, there was a second round of ticket checks by staff, and on the right-hand side, there were service personnel you could approach anytime if you had questions—which was very convenient and thoughtful.

Once inside, we first rested on the left side, where the sofas and carpets were red, giving off a distinctly Chinese vibe.

Once most people had gathered, a guide gave us a free tour. This is the sand table right at the entrance—you can touch the interactive globe to choose different highlights of sports moments.

Then the guide took us up in an elevator to the premium area to visit the Auspicious Cloud Golden Hall and the Flowing Water Silver Hall. The walls around the elevator were golden on all three sides, and the beautiful flaky ceramic patterns on top were striking. The elevator is stepped, with three levels, and each step has a slight slope—so watch your step.

The guide first took us to the Auspicious Cloud Golden Hall, where you can walk on auspicious clouds, symbolizing good fortune. Looking up, you see a silver ceiling covered with doves of peace.

On both sides of the hall are golden cloud-patterned doors. The doves on the doors are made from eggshells, and the door handles are also crafted from eggshell pieces.

Directly opposite the hall is Mao Zedong’s poem “Qinyuan Chun – Snow,” with bold and powerful calligraphy that matches the poem’s heroic spirit.　

The painting behind it depicts 12 magpies, symbolizing the 12 months of the year, each month filled with joy.　

After passing through the splendid Auspicious Cloud Golden Hall, we entered the Flowing Water Silver Hall, which, while not as dazzling, exudes understated elegance. This was where the Olympic Organizing Committee rested during the 2008 Olympics.　

Former IOC President Jacques Rogge and current President Thomas Bach both took breaks here, and their handprints are still preserved.

The walls display hand-painted artworks of ancient Chinese sports, depicting various traditional activities such as polo, cuju (ancient football), archery, martial arts, weightlifting, and board games. Women also participated in sports back then, showing that ancient Chinese society had no gender bias when it came to athletics.　　

After seeing these, we arrived at the VIP spectator stand—the area where world leaders and their families watched the competitions during the Olympics.　

Next, we watched the light show, which is divided into three chapters: Glorious Times, Power of the Spirit, and Glory of Honor. These three sections revolve around the Olympics, presenting its origins, classic music representing the Olympic spirit, and the glory of iconic Olympic moments. The musical part features well-known Olympic songs, carefully arranged so that everyone feels like they’re reliving the timeless Olympic spirit together. Visually, it heavily incorporates Olympic elements, instantly bringing back memories of the Games and sports.

The light show features six pieces of music, blending classical and modern tunes. Especially when “You and Me” played, it gave me a thrill—the music even includes audience applause. The Olympic rings, classic Olympic events, the Winter Olympics, and the Beijing Olympics—all familiar sights—kept appearing through dynamic light changes.　

The lights shifted in vibrant colors, with each moment being a gradual transformation, where individual elements came together to form clear images.　　

The entire performance perfectly blended youthful energy, traditional elegance, and a modern tech feel. The rich laser effects and dazzling light displays had everyone constantly taking photos and videos.　

The light show lasted half an hour, and then it started all over again. I found out that this show runs five times daily from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM. Visitors can choose their entry time based on their schedule and even watch it multiple times—it’s really great value. But I’d recommend coming after 8:00 PM; earlier than that, since it’s not fully dark yet, the effect isn’t as good.　

After the light show, walking out, the Bird’s Nest looked like a crystal palace, its steel structure bathed in a soft glow.　

The Water Cube is also very beautiful—every little bubble clearly shows its edges, with blue and orange, a cool tone and a warm one, complementing each other from afar.

By the way, the light show runs for three months from April 27 to July 20, so you can come anytime. Besides the light show, during the day you can also buy tickets to visit the Top Beauty Bird’s Nest—Skywalk, which is said to be a 1,000-meter-long open-air corridor on top of the Bird’s Nest. The view is pretty amazing too.

Although the night view is beautiful, I have to work tomorrow. Goodbye, Bird’s Nest. I’ll come back to see you after I’ve earned some money from work.

This article is published by HowToTrip. Sharing and reposting are welcome — please credit the source.
Article URL: https://www.howtotrip.net/views-63885