As a national stadium, should the ticket price of Bird's Nest be set by its operating company or should it listen to public opinion on the subject? The Legal Daily reports:
Four elderly people who had traveled from Xicheng District hoping to admire the magnificence of the National Stadium were put off by the unacceptably high ticket price and returned in low spirits from the booth in the front of the ticket hall on November 4.
"As a national stadium open to the general public to visit, we are very disappointed that there are no half-price concessions for the elderly," complained gray-haired 70-year-old Wang Huifu.
Like the elderly, students holding certificates cannot buy half-price tickets either. Said one student from the Beijing Institute of Technology, "There is no half-price ticket – is Bird's Nest not a public place comparable to other public facilities?"
With the increasing number of tourists, the price is being called into question again and again.
Since it was opened to the general public on National Day, visitors both from home and abroad have come in an endless stream to this architectural masterpiece. As the main venue for the Olympic Games, its huge steel-structured frame has attracted the attention of the whole world. Olympic Green has become a new tourist attraction after the Beijing Games, while modern stadiums such as Bird's Nest and Water Cube have also become new landmarks representing the image of Beijing. On the first day of its opening to the public, the Olympic Common Domain (OCD) attracted 180,000 tourists, one-third of them to visit Bird's Nest.
However, in due course, as well as words of praise by tourists, the high price has become a general problem. The ticket price for Bird's Nest is 50 yuan, and it is free only to people holding disabled military cards and children lower than 1.2 m. All other concessionary certificates are invalid.
Sun Zhe from Beijing University of Physical Education abandoned the idea of visiting once she heard the price, "I didn't think it would be more than 20 yuan just to walk around inside it, but actually it is much higher than expected. So I just had a look from outside."
Mr. Xiang argued with the seller when buying a ticket. "We elderly enjoy half-price entry to the Imperial Palace, so why not here? Is this not a scenic spot?" he questioned, waving the special certificate for elderly people.
"This is unreasonable--since they opened to the public, why have they set the price so high, and without any half-price concession?" a tour guide added from the next window after completing a reservation.
As the expensive main Olympic stadium, every issue concerning Bird's Nest is comes under close scrutiny.