Comments:
A Willow Garden
A willow garden , a nice piece of green space in the heart of Beijing ...
With a lotus pond 
Great getaway from a hectic week ... best enjoy before sets in
what a contrast!
The area seems so peaceful and lush with all the greenery, then you see the stadium looking thing in the background. Plus there's that ship, is it functional or just a boat shaped structure on the pond?
-MW
Keen eye !
That is the Workers Stadium in the back ground. The Workers Stadium was the main sporting arena in Beijing before the Bird's Nest took its crown.
The Workers Stadium (????? ), often called Gongti or Gong Ti, is mostly used for football (soccer) matches these days. The stadium was built in 1959 and was last renovated in 2004 (the concrete structure was strengthened, a new rotating display screen and energy-saving devices were installed). It has a capacity of 66,161. It is one of the Ten Great Buildings constructed in 1959 for the 10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.
The willow garden is built around a small section of the old canals that run through old Beijing. Lotsa folks spend their weekends fishing along these canals, which stretch across the entire length and width of Beijing.
That ship is a "floating restaurant/bar" , although, I am not sure if it was purpose built (ie fake ship) or a decommissioned vessel moved there.
The entire area is now full of pubs, bars etc and really popular with the younger crowd and foreigners alike. Quite happening when the sun sets.
Also quite a few expatriate families choose to live in that area for that reasons.
Its a nice quaint green corner in a hectic and heavily polluted city ... an oasis of sorts ....
re: keen
Have you been to the Bird's Nest? I thought it was pretty cool:
We went when it was cold, they had this fun looking setup:
-MW
Sadly ...
The Bird's Nest is now in pretty bad shape ... As with most things in China, they build it , but maintenance is a different matter altogether ...
Not been there since I came to Beijing
Been meaning to go in the night to capture the water cube and then some in night scenes.
Perhaps its time I do so before the deep winter cold sets in !
The Water Cube...
The Water Cube was cool. They had a indoor water park and lots of people were doing laps in the other pools. I think you can do a daily rate or some kind of longer term membership.
-MW