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The National Aquatics Center, where President Xi Jinping hosted a reception banquet last Monday for representatives from the 21 member economies attending the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders' Week, will be reopened to the public on Nov 22, an official said.
The center, the major venue for swimming events during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was closed for the 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Week, held in Beijing from Nov 5 to 11. Known as the Water Cube, it features a translucent, blue-toned exterior with bubbles.
The arrangement in the banquet hall for the APEC guests' dinner on Nov 10 will be kept intact until at least early next year and open to visitors, said Li Aiqing, chairman of Beijing State-owned Assets Management Co, which operates the National Aquatics Center.
Visitors will be able to take photos at the site of the banquet and arts performance, and enjoy the same dishes and dessert served at the banquet, he said. The center will provide free tour guides for visitors.
Western food and traditional Beijing dishes such as roast duck were served at the APEC reception banquet. A gala and fireworks show took place on the square outside National Stadium, opposite the Water Cube, in the evening.
The reception also featured a red LED-light blanket made on the road leading to the National Aquatics Center for the delegates before the banquet.
The blanket was formed by the lights arranged about half a meter above the road and directed outward to have the lights reflected back to the road. And the lights extended with the moving of the motorcade until it arrived at the gate of the Water Cube. It took a team half a year to rehearse and complete the light blanket, media reports said.
The National Aquatics Center, with a capacity of 4,000, is an iconic structure from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Part of the venue was transformed to an aquatics park that was opened to the public in 2010. The swimming pool was also opened to the public.
Since September 2008, the center has received more than 14 million visitors and hosted more than 800 concerts, aquatic contests and exhibitions.
wangxiaodong@chinadaily.com.cn
