beijing travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Beijing National Stadium
Beijing, China
Cost: $500 million
Capacity: 91,000 (approximately 80,000 post-Olympics)
Opens: April 2008
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 The $400 million complex, a concert hall, opera house and theater under one space age span, is designed to be the center of Chinese culture, just as Tiananmen Square next door was designated this country’s political center in Beijing.  The futuristic “egg-shaped” building is an irony to their neighbor, Forbidden city, with its modern design. This is one of the anticipated architectural masterpiece designed by the French architect Jean Andreu. Formally known as National Grand Theatre, Beijing Center for Performing Arts opens to the public December 22, 2007.

Continue reading The futuristic National Center for the Performing Arts

Emperor is located in a very traditional area in Beijing, China. The place is in strolling distance to the Forbidden City and many shopping centres. The Emperor Hotel is formed of the Qinghua University Alumini club and stands adjacent to the Imperial Palace.
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The Great Wall Kempinski is an amazing hotel located in one hour by car from downtown Beijing and thirty minutes from the Great Wall at Badaling. The hotel is one of a kind in the whole world, because of its private collection of contemporary architecture designed by 12 Asian architects.
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The Summer Palace in northwest suburban Beijing is the largest and most complete imperial garden existing in China. It was firs built in the 12th century as an imperial palace. In its compact 70,000 square m of building space, one finds a variety of palaces, gardens, and other classical-style architectural structures. The garden came into existence early in the 1750s and had once been a summer resort for the emperors. The Marble Boat is at the southwest foot of the hill, and the Long Corridor runs east to west along its southern edge.
Continue reading One different art - Summer Palace

Valencia
All eyes will be on Valencia later this year when the Spanish city hosts the coveted America’s Cup, the world’s biggest and most prestigious yachting event. Valencia is the first city in Europe to stage the race, despite the event’s long history. Already a popular short break destination with savvy travellers, Valencia benefits from a great location a short hop from the resorts on the Costa Blanca and is well served by no-frills airlines. But it is a charming city in its own right, home to the original paella, and it offers an exciting mixture of old and new, with cutting edge modern architecture and traditional baroque barrios. Check out the futuristic looking Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (the City of Arts and Sciences) designed by local architect Santiago Calatrava, featuring Europe’s largest state-of-the-art marine park, complete with a 30m- (98ft-) long shark tunnel, a dolphinarium, huge fish tanks, a colony of Humboldt’s penguins, and a very surreal underwater restaurant . The harbour area, Europe’s largest urban regeneration project, will be at the centre of the action during the Cup.
Continue reading Top hot destinations 2007