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Michael Burgess and the Bird's Nest - Source: ONE News -
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Faded FUWAs, empty stands and a concrete grand prix track - it was a strange feeling returning to the National Olympic Stadium.
The Bird's Nest was, for many, the enduring symbol of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Who will ever forget the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies?
It was also the scene of Bolt's blitz, the venue where Vili vanquished them all and Willis won back some athletics pride for the black singlet.
But what would happen to it after the 17-day Olympic party?
It seems the Chinese government has managed to avoid the mistakes of some previous Olympic hosts.
I'm not sure how smoothly "White Elephant" translates into Greek, but Athens managed to construct a whole herd of them for the 2004 Olympics in what was an unmitigated financial disaster.
Montreal remains the benchmark for how not to do things - stadium budgeted cost $134 million; eventual cost $770 million; Olympics held 1976; stadium finally paid off: 2006.
Granted, China does have the natural advantage of a huge population and a burgeoning middle class with a real thirst for internal tourism.
The guided tour of the National Stadium will set you back 50 yuan ($10).
It is fine for a foreign visitor but in a city where a bottle of beer is 3 yuan ($0.60), haircuts can be 5 yuan ($1.00) and two people can have dinner for 25 yuan ($5.00), this seems on the pricey side.
Surely there is a case for one price for Beijingers or locals and another fee for tourists - similar to what still happens in Russia and other East European countries - but it would be impossible to implement given the profile.
According to our guide, an average of 100,000 people have visited the stadium daily since the end of the Games and in total 7.7 million people have made the pilgrimage since September 2008.
She added that most visitors come to "share the great moments and the Olympic spirit".
The day we visited must have bucked that trend as there was just a smattering of visitors, mostly company groups from outside Beijing.
We tried to talk to some employees of a surveying company but they nervously told us "you better ask the boss".
Once permission was granted, the overriding reaction was pride and amazement at this 91,000 seat facility that was "great and grand".
The stadium has also hosted football matches (a game between Italian giants Lazio and AC Milan sold out in June) while a Jackie Chan concert that utilised five stages attracted tens of thousands.
The intention is to host four to six big events on an annual basis and preparations are well underway for the Race of Champions in November. It features the best drivers from across different motorsport disciplines competing against each other in identical cars.
For this reason the track and field is gone - replaced by something that looked like a scalectrix track with ramps and tunnels in a quite small area.
And you would imagine that thousands will flock to the Bird's Nest yet again as Beijing continues to build on its Olympic legacy.
Click here to read more of Michael's tales from China.
tvnz.co.nz's Michael Burgess is in China courtesy of the Asia New Zealand foundation and travelled there with Air New Zealand. He is aiming to investigate the impact and legacy of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and will be writing about the sights and sounds of China along the way.
