THE REAL BEIJING GAMES

In his pacy, page-turner thriller, The Eighth Day, Alistair Smith tells of the race against time to thwart a bid by a ruthless group to grab control of China in the midst of the confusion of the opening of the Beijing Olympics. The city’s ancient Temple of Heaven is the setting for several key scenes -- in the beginning when a main character flees from the Red Guards, and during the climax as the good guys close in on the plotters. Here is the author’s real story of the Temple of Heaven ...

THE REAL BEIJING GAMES

By ALISTAIR SMITH

It is early Sunday morning in Beijing, the city that hosted the 2008 Olympic Games, and the citizens of the Chinese capital have come out to play.

But not for them the traumas of the triathlon, the dizzy heights of the pole vault, or the bulging eyes and grunting snorts of weight-lifting.

Instead, they are gathering in their thousands in the 250-hectares of shady parkland that surrounds the 16th century Temple of Heaven, greeting old friends and peeling off in groups, each to its own favourite spot.

Once there, they will spend the next few hours pursuing their favourite past-times. And what an extraordinary range of activities, some most unexpected or unusual, there are.

It’s easy to take a bus from the centre of Beijing to the Temple of Heaven, and there’s a small admission charge to enter the temple complex, which varies according to the season. It costs me the equivalent of $4, but the locals are using a much cheaper monthly pass.

On the first walkway inside the main gate, a group of people were performing what looked like the Chinese equivalent of boot-scooting, while alongside that others practiced modern ballroom dance routines.

Across the way, it was synchronised flag-waving, and elsewhere gymnastic ribbons were creating flowing rainbows of colour.

There was music: a solo player on a traditional stringed instrument, a choir or a 40-piece mouth organ band.

An area was filled with equipment painted bright purple, violet and turquoise allows the older generation to do gentle exercise to keep their joints supple, in contrast to fit young men swinging on parallel bars, or doing contortionists’ tricks with poles.

Impromptu games of badminton and other racquet games were in progress; a group of calligraphy artists were honing their skills drawing characters on paving slabs using huge brushes dipped in water.

The “Long Corridor” – five metres wide and 350 metres long -- connects various sections of the temple complex, providing shelter and shade. It is jammed with people, sitting on its balustrades or on folding stools in small alcoves, playing dozens of different card and board games, lustily slapping down the winning card, or pondering deeply over their next move.

However, the Temple of Heaven itself remains a peaceful place, despite being filled with tourists. It’s dominated by the main temple, a huge bell-shaped tower constructed on top of glistening granite terraces, sparkling bright blue in the sunlight. It stands 40-metres high and its ceiling is supported by wooden pillars without using nails or bolts.

Halls flanking the square around the temple house changing exhibitions relating to the temples and the emperors who came here to pray for good harvest.

Another drawcard for visitors is the Echo Wall, a circular structure 65metres in diameter. In theory, your whisper will reach your friend on the far side. In practice, that’s hard with several people testing the theory at one time.

But don’t be disappointed. On a Sunday morning, there’s always people-watching in the park instead.


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Sydney Opera House Immortalised in LEGO Bricks

Sydney Opera House, Australia's iconic masterpiece of late modern architecture, has had its famous sculpted curves recreated in miniature form by the soon to be released LEGO® Architecture range.

Launching in March 2012 for the first time in Australia, the LEGO Architecture collection will initially offer a range of seven brick-built models, all based on famous landmarks and masterpieces of architecture from around the world, including New York's Empire State Building and Seattle's Space Needle.

Offering a perfect mini recreation of Sydney's much-loved landmark, LEGO Architecture's Sydney Opera House features the distinctive white shells, sculptured angles and even the sandstone colouredconcourse, all made using 260 LEGO bricks.

Caroline Squire, Director of Marketing, LEGO Australia comments: "The LEGO Architecture Sydney Opera House seeks to capture the essence of this grand building in a small scale. The LEGO Architecture range uses the iconic LEGO brick to interpret the designs of renowned architecture from around the world and LEGO Australia is proud that Australia's own Sydney Opera House has been chosen as one of the 2012 debut models for this exciting collection."

LEGO Architecture products come in two types: Landmark and Architect. The Landmark series features well-known buildings, while the Architect series focuses on the work of important architects. Jørn Utzon is the third architect to be involved within the range after Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Aimed at inspiring future architects, engineers and designers as well as architecture fans around the world, the range contains a booklet featuring step-by-step building instructions that is prefaced by exclusive, archival history, information and photographs of each iconic building, its design origin, its architect and its architectural features.

Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the cultural and architectural significance of Sydney Opera House was affirmed in 2007 when UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site and "one of the indisputable masterpieces of human creativity, not only in the 20th century but in the history of humankind."

"Sydney Opera House is thrilled to partner with one of the world's leading toy manufacturers to produce the Sydney Opera House LEGO Architecture set," says Sydney Opera House's Commercial Development Director, Andy Lown. "Sydney Opera House strives to take people on a journey from the ordinary to the extraordinary, whoever and wherever they are, and this licensed range is a great example of how we can deliver our brand to a global audience. We're delighted people from around the world can now build a LEGO brick replica of the House."

Since its opening in 1973 over 45 million people have attended more than 100,000 performances at Sydney Opera House. It's estimated that well over 100 million people have visited the site making it one of Australia's most visited tourist attractions.

The LEGO Sydney Opera House™, RRP AUD $59.99, is available to purchase from March 2012 along with the wider LEGO Architecture range in select David Jones and Myer department stores, as well as The Sydney Opera House and select gift stores around Australia. Please call the LEGO Australia Consumer Service Hotline on 1800 683 100 for stockist information. The product is designed for ages 12 and up and includes a content-rich booklet with facts and history of Sydney Opera House™.