I missed the start of the opening ceremonies at this year’s Olympics, but did they explain the significance of the “Bird’s Nest”? Isn’t there also a dish on some (American) Chinese restaurants by the same name? Does it refer to peace, perhaps? Thanks in advance for the enlightenment. - Young Grasshopper
I didn’t notice if they mentioned why the stadium is called the Bird’s Nest but it does look like one.
It refers to the appearance of the stadium. Cf. “water cube”. I don’t know if there is any greater significance to building it to look like a bird’s nest in the first place. I’ve been watching a lot of the Olympics, and I’ve not heard any deeper meaning discussed.
Look at some photos. Seems an appropriate name.
Apparently, the Swiss architects hadn’t realized that their contraption might look like a bird’s nest when they presented it to the Chinese. The stadium did, however, strike all of the Chinese as a bird’s nest immediately so they decided to stick with it.
Yeah, I get it… :rolleyes:
Perhaps, my question should have been more explicit about any significance to the Chinese, like a symbol of peace or hope, or such.
Wow, that’s really cool…
Note that it is only a colloquial name, the official title being the Beijing National Stadium.
I don’t know if you can call it true cultural significance, but I will tell you that some chinese people do eat bird’s nest soup. So maybe they look at the stadium and see it as a giant tasty delicacy.