The huge construction required extremely stringent requirements for steel quality. Chinese researchers invented a special kind of steel to satisfy the standard. More than 110-thousand tons of steel were used.

Tan Xiaochun, Beijing Urban Construction Group, said, "The weld seam on the Bird's Nest has a length of 320 kilometers. More than a thousand welders worked on the project for fifteen months. It's a miracle in China's construction history."

Nearly nine hundred pieces of protective overhang were installed on the stadium's roof. They protect the lighting inside the

Bird's Nest and also protect the spectators from rain.

Li Aiqing, Board Chairman of National Stadium, said, "There are three layers of stands in the stadium. We can evacuate all the audience to safe places in eight minutes."

On August the eighth, the Beijing Olympics will officially begin at the Bird's Nest. The stadium will play host to China's first ever Olympics.

(CCTV June 30, 2008)