An Olympic Bike Ride Through Beijing

After visiting the Summer Palace on our first day in Beijing, we decided on our second day to head out and explore the city on a pair of bicycles. We borrowed the bikes from Ruling.

We had heard that one of the best ways to see Beijing is on bikes, and that proved to be the case. Beijing is said to be as flat as a chessboard, making it it very easy to get around on a one-speed bike. Beijing also has huge bike lanes, often times bigger than the lanes for cars. Although Portland is known as Bike City USA, Beijing definitely takes it to a whole new level. There are a ton of bikes on the roads, probably more so now due to the mandate from the Chinese government that its citizens can only drive either on odd or even days (an attempt to reduce air pollution during the Olympics).

Our first stop was the famed "Bird's Nest" stadium, the National Stadium for the Olympics. This is where the Opening Ceremony will take place, along with soccer and track and field events. It is really cool looking, especially at night. Next to it is the National Aquatics Center, which will host all of the swimming and diving events. It is covered in what looks like giant bubbles that light up and change colors at night.

We then biked a bit south to just north of the Forbidden City. In this area, we explored the hutongs and crescent-shaped Ho Hai Lake. We had dinner at a popular place on the water, enjoying the ambiance, people watching, and our delicious meal! Following dinner, we biked to the Forbidden City, where the torch relay performance rehearsal was taking place. Very exciting! There were several dancers and a huge stage was set up.


We then proceeded to Tiananmen Square, which has several large light displays and a fountain. There were hundreds upon hundreds of people there, most of whom were Chinese. We took several pictures and then began our two-hour journey home. Ruling and Hongyu's home is located northwest of the Square, so we got to pass through the Olympic Park again. We took several pictures of the venues and especially admired the lit-up Bird's Nest and Bubble Cube. We then biked home, making it there around midnight! What a full and fun day!