Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park 顺义奥林匹克水上公园

About Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park

The long rowing water and the pumped slalom course were designed for very different kinds of competition, making their contrast a useful focus for the visit. A waterside greenway now links the Olympic venue with leisure features including Storm Beach and a Ferris wheel. Enjoying the site from the shore is distinct from taking part in rowing or kayaking, which requires the park’s activity arrangements. Choose an observation-and-walking circuit unless a coached session has been specifically booked.

The park covers about 31,850 square meters on the Chaobai River (潮白河) in Mapo Township, Shunyi district. Construction began on 27 December 2005; the basin began to be filled with water by 16 November 2006, and the venue was completed and handed over for use on 28 July 2007. It served as the venue for the rowing, canoeing and marathon swimming events of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and for the rowing events of the subsequent Paralympic Games.

The venue had 1,200 permanent spectator seats and 25,800 temporary seats, including 10,000 standing places. A year ahead of the Olympics, it hosted the World Junior Rowing Championships, the China Open Canoe/Kayak Slalom and the China Canoe/Kayak Flatwater Open in August 2007, as part of the 'Good Luck Beijing' series of sporting events, along with the 10-kilometer marathon swimming event and a qualifying event for the Games.

The slalom course, considered difficult even by Olympic standards, is powered by electric pumps at the southwest corner of the rectangular rowing pond, drawing its water from it; the water speed reaches 7.5 meters per second, with a 300-meter course dropping 6.3 meters. Its western loop served as the competition course, while the eastern loop, with additional branches, was used for training and warm-up.

What to look for

• Olympic competition water: compare the long straight rowing setting with the more complex slalom-course form.
• Waterside greenway: relate the former competition venue to the park’s later leisure landscape.

Location & getting there

Getting to Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park

The park is at No. 19 Baima Road, Shunyi. The municipal greenway guide identifies Shunyi station on Line 15 followed by local bus Shun 5.

• For a booked water activity, confirm the meeting point inside the park; the main entrance and the activity base are separate locations.