Water Cube keeps banquet hall for public

The National Aquatics Center, where President Xi Jinping hosted a reception banquet last Monday for representatives from the 21 member economies attending the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders' Week, will be reopened to the public on Nov 22, an official said.

The center, the major venue for swimming events during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was closed for the 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Week, held in Beijing from Nov 5 to 11. Known as the Water Cube, it features a translucent, blue-toned exterior with bubbles.

The arrangement in the banquet hall for the APEC guests' dinner on Nov 10 will be kept intact until at least early next year and open to visitors, said Li Aiqing, chairman of Beijing State-owned Assets Management Co, which operates the National Aquatics Center.