The Olympic Sports Center in Guangzhou

Situated at the Dongpu Village of Tianhe district in Guangzhou, the Guangzhou Olympic Center is a modern gymnasium, which was built mainly for the 9th National Game of China in 2001 by the Guangdong Provincial People's Government, covering an area of 1.01 million square meters. 

It was completed in Sep. 2001, with a total construction area of 328,000 square meters. Designed by NEB Co. from the United States, this center has gymnasium, hockey field, archery range, horsemanship field, and baseball field etc, which boasts a beautiful environment with grass and trees all around. And the gymnasium inside it covers an area of 145,000 thousand square meters. Its roof, weighing 11,000 tons, is divided into two pieces of steel roof trusses from east to west and crookedly set on 21 groups of pillars, just like a floating ribbon, demonstrating that China will develop rapidly as a soaring dragon in the coming century. With 21 small stands, the pavilion can accommodate 80,000 spectators. The seats look like thousands of colorful petals, which gather to be a city flower of Guangzhou: Kapok. 

This magnificent scene becomes a visual center of the gymnasium, demonstrating the torch of human's unyielding spirit is suspended in the fluttering "ribbon". The whole grand Olympic Center is one of the landmark buildings of Guangzhou, full of novelty and romance. In July 2002, it was evaluated as one of the Hot 8 scenic spots of Guangzhou in the new century, named "Five Rings Shining in the morning sun". (Guangzhou Today)

Editor: Catherine