A venue too far

I was modestly excited to discover that our local football team, Beijing Guo'an, were to be playing a visiting European side in an exhibition game this week. And not a soulless corporate behemoth like Manchester United or Real Madrid, but an actual football team - honest, down-to-earth English mid-table toilers, Birmingham City.

My excitement evaporated when I discovered the game was to be played not at the Workers' Stadium (as I had naturally assumed it would be) but at the dratted Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium (now, apparently, styled the 'National Stadium').

As I griped during the Olympics, the powers-that-be here outstripped their customary stupidity by locating the main Olympic venues in the most inaccessible part of the city.

Now, it ought to be a relative doddle to get to the Olympic Green, because it's in a reasonably central location, just off the 4th Ringroad, only 4 or 5 miles out of the centre of the city. But the public transport links are horrible: taxis and buses can't stop on the Ringroad itself, and there didn't seem to be any obvious taxi ranks or bus stops or whatever beside the main entrances (I think there were extra bus routes laid on during the Olympics, but they weren't well advertised, and have probably long since been discontinued). The subway link was even worse: an entirely separate line (with a laborious, overland interchange) serving just the Olympic Green, and 'connected' only to one other line - Line 10, which is itself scarcely connected to the rest of the network. From where I live, I have to negotiate three interchanges in the space of 8 or 9 stations. And the nearest exit station is still the best part of a mile away from the stadium (and I'm not sure that this rump of a line is still in service anyway; in fact, I'm not even sure if it was fully in use during the Olympics - some of the stations appeared to be closed when I walked by). I could walk all the way in a little over an hour - it's probably quicker.

Quite apart from the galling practicalities of getting there (and back), the area around the Bird's Nest is severely unappealing, a 'cultural desert'. A visit to the Workers' slots neatly into a wider schedule of revelry, since it's in the heart of the city's nightlife zone, with several clubs, bars, and restaurants within the stadium complex itself, and the Sanlitun bar district only a few minutes' walk away.

Moreover, though the atmosphere of the place suffers rather from its excessive size (it's seldom more than a third or a half full, other than for the very biggest games), it is the traditional home of the capital side, and thus inspires fervent emotions in the fans. Even I have some sentiment invested in the place, since it is the scene of the 5 or 6 games I've previously seen here.

The Bird's Nest is a pain-in-the-backside to get to, and will probably be three-quarters empty and severely lacking in atmosphere. And there's nowhere to go for a drink afterwards.

I think I'll watch the game at home, thanks.

Come on, you Blues!