Cubed water

With the CCTV tower, the Egg and the Bird Nest, Beijing stock of architectural icons is significant and impressive.  Also an iconic figure of Beijing's cityscape, the Water Cube really tries hard to be more than just a boxed memory of a great year – the year when China became part of our conscious universe. (hint: 2008)

Like many other Olympic cities, Beijing prepared to cast an unforgettable show, and created a stock of facilities that were in themselves real architectural and engineering prowess's.

Designed by the Australian group PTW, the international engineering group Arup and the Chinese group CSCEC, the Water Cube - which housed the Olympic Pool - is a simple steel structure covered with translucent plastic panels. Their unusual shape, bulging out of the metal structure that frames the building, makes them good solar captors, allowing to save about 30% on heating, pretty much as much as if its roof would be covered in solar panels. From the inside, the ambiance is pleasant; a nice flow of light comes in, no matter if the polluted smog hovers around or not.
Exactly two years after the Olympics, the Water Cube started his new life as an aquatic park.

So during the peak of winter, at a period of the year auspiciously called Spring Festival!! - don't get me started about this - what can we do when it is a few degrees below zero outside without any snow, with some free time with the kids, knowing that most friends have escaped under more auspicious weather? Beat the climate, put on the bathing suits and get our feet in some warm water!  Water Cube, here we come!

First we packed a picnic to avoid some dreadful Chinese fast food (imagine pogo meat sticks of unknown source, sweet old popcorn, ramen noodles, super deep fried chicken bits - more batter than meat - and bad coffee).

We did fail at our first attempt. Going the day before the national holiday was supposedly not wise, the security staff told us.  The day before the national holiday is that important night you have to be home. (chinese logic is somewhat elusive to me at times). So we kept our lunches ready and headed there the following day, on the national holiday, not really knowing what to expect.

And we were happily surprised!!!
The main is space is taken by a fairly large beach-like pool with warm water, with a hourly set of waves, complete with typical Chinese animation (loud music, group hand clapping and door prizes). There are some kiddies pools and slides of appropriate scale, in colorful arrangements. Then towering these, for for the big kids, some crazy fast slides (me and Pauli each tried our own). There is also some very very impressive inner tubes rides, large than one could imagine possible. And on one side, around some very colorful fun slides and inner tubes cool rides, crowned by a large box constantly filled with water, periodically tipping over its content on the unsuspecting crowd. More inner tubes rides for various ages are colorfully organized under that area.  
Furthermore and more surprisingly, the water and the beach are relatively clean, lockers rooms in good order – after three years in China (among which we logged a canceled gym membership due to lack of cleanliness, an aborted hot spring romantic afternoon due to sanitation reasons, and several other tiptoeing exercises in random places), we admittedly were ready for worst.  Maybe this was due to the high entry fee? Indeed, 200 RMB is rather a steep price for working middle class Beijinger.

When we left, Noam said he did not have fun; he really wanted to do the large rides with his friend Ofek… Next year!!! But we were guarantied a good night of sleep, with all this splashing around!