Everything is under construction.

And the massive Forbidden City, i.e. the Palace Museum, is no exception. All three major halls where emperors held sessions with cabinets were being renovated. Such a disappointment! I was told the Forbidden City has a total of 9,999 rooms. But, at least for me, the rooms that count are those three magnificent ones. They are the ones that visitors must see.

But to the north of the Forbidden City, the construction scene looked encouraging. The National Stadium -- or the Bird's Nest -- and the National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube, are next to each other. Construction of the Bird's Nest is being finished. The Water Cube has been done for a while, and for a period of time was open to the public. But now it's also being prepped for the Olympic Games to open August 8.

Photo taken by Nina Ying Sun

I was wandering around on the site, thinking how contemporary and gigantic these buildings are. Then some people walked by, discussing how expensive it will be to maintain the plastic-film exterior of the Water Cube. "It's easier to build than to clean this thing in Beijing's environment," I heard.

Speaking of which, many building exteriors in Shanghai and Beijing, as impressive as they are, could really use a thorough cleaning. But I guess the cost can add up with all the dust and chemicals constantly floating in the air.