BEIJING -- Thirty-one venues in Beijing are ready to host the Olympic Games slated for August 8-24.

The National Stadium, nicknamed the Bird's Nest, is a masterpiece for its giant twig-like structure of metal girders and the bowl-shaped roof.

Covering an area of 20.4 hectares, it seats 91,000 spectators on three floors. The 500 million U.S. dollars stadium is scheduled to host the opening and closing ceremonies, track and field competition and soccer finals during the Olympics.

The National Aquatics Center, known as the Water Cube, resembles a gigantic blue box of bubble-wrap, which looks iridescent, elegant and magical.

Located in the Olympic Green, it covers an area of nearly 80,000 square meters, with a seating capacity of 17,000. The center will host the swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water polo events.

The National Indoor Stadium joins the group of landmark structures in the Olympic Green, together with the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube. The stadium, with an overall building area of 80,900 square meters and a capacity of 18,000, will be the venue for the Olympic artistic gymnastics, trampoline, handball and the Paralympic wheelchair basketball competition.

The Beijing Shooting Range Hall, covering a surface area of 45,645 square meters and able to seat 8,600, will host 10 shooting events during the Olympics and Paralympics. The first Olympic gold will very likely be decided in this venue.

The Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium covers an area of 168,000 square meters and has a seating capacity of 18,000. It has three floors underground and four floors above.

The funnel-shaped LED display system is used in the gymnasium for theatrical performances, real-time broadcasts and background imagery.

Occupying a land surface of 33,320 square meters, the Laoshan Velodrome shines as a brand new venue for track cycling. The three-story building is 33.8m tall, capable of seating 6,000, including 3,000 temporary seats.

The Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park will host the rowing, canoeing, kayaking and open water swimming events, which have a total of 32 gold medals up for grabs.

With a building area of 31,850 square meters, it occupies the largest surface area of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games venues. The venue has a seating capacity of 37,000, with 1,200 permanent seats and 25,800 temporary ones.

The China Agricultural University Gymnasium, the venue for the Olympic wrestling, spans an area of nearly 24,000 square meters and can seat up to 8,500 people. After the 2008 Games, the venue will serve as a multi-functional facility accessible to university students and staff, as well as the residents in the neighborhood.