The construction site of the National Olympic Stadium.

   All the 14 competition venues to be built from scratch for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (including 11 in Beijing, and one each in Tianjin, Qingdao and Qinhuangdao) have begun their construction work for the 2008 Olympiad as Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium -- the Judo and Taekwondo venue for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games -- broke ground on October 18. The concrete structures of the National Stadium and National Aquatic Center, dubbed "bird's nest" and "water cube," have already been completed.