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 | A worker walks atop the roof of the National Stadium (R), also known as the Bird's Nest, as cleaners abseil down the exterior of the National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube, at the Olympic Green in Beijing July 17, 2008. While feats of athletic brilliance may be the main focus of cameras during the Beijing Olympics, the telegenic venues set to host the athletes will draw their own share of gasps from admiring spectators. Beijing's Olympic construction boom has bequeathed an 800-year-old city with some of the world's most futuristic architectural statements, potent symbols of a resurgent power's desire to showcase its development and mastery of technology. click to open  |  | A view of the Olympic Green is seen from inside the lattice steel structure of the Bird's Nest National Stadium in Beijing, Thursday, July 17, 2008 click to open |  | Two Olympic venues, the National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube, left, and the National Olympic Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, at right, are seen in Beijing click to open |  | A Chinese girl walks past a miniature of Olympic National Stadium, known as Bird's Nest with a cutout of men's 110m hurdles world record holder Liu Xiang of China on display at the arriving hall of Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, Wednesday, July 16, 2008. click to open |  | The Bird Nest National Stadium lit up for a rehearsal of the opening ceremony is reflected in a pool of water in Beijing, China, Wednesday, July 16, 2008. click to open |  | Fireworks explode over China's National Stadium, also known as the ' Bird's Nest', during the rehearsal for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, Beijing, China, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008. click to open |  | A giant round structure sits in the middle of the Bird's Nest National Stadium where the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games will be held in August, in Beijing, Thursday, July 17, 2008. Full dress rehearsals cloaked in secrecy have started for one of the most anticipated summer Olympic Games click to open |  | Ducks gather at a pond near the Bird's Nest National Stadium where the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games will be held in August, in Beijing, Thursday, July 17, 2008. click to open |  | A Chinese national flag flies over a giant round structure sitting in the middle of the Bird's Nest National Stadium where the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games will be held in August, in Beijing, Thursday, July 17, 2008 click to open |  | Workers clean inside the Bird's Nest National Stadium where the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games will be held in August, in Beijing, Thursday, July 17, 2008 click to open |
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