A poster for the Water Cube mineral water with the Water Cube brand at the National Aquatics Center. [China Daily] |
\When the National Aquatics Center passed the completion examination last Sunday, Kang Wei, president of the Beijing National Aquatics Center Company Ltd, had mixed emotions.
The joys and sorrows Kang had experienced since the beginning of the project swam in his mind and moved him to tears.
With the venue, dubbed the Water Cube after its blue bubble-wrap appearance, available for use as of this week for the test events, Kang is now focusing on making the Water Cube a valuable brand.
"While planning and inviting the bid for the aquatics center, we took into consideration post-Games use," Kang said. "As early as three years ago we planned to register the Water Cube trademark and now we have launched mineral water from Canada in bottles and we will have more products with the trademark in the future."
Last August, Kang's company successfully obtained the exclusive right to use the Water Cube trademark. At the venue's delivering ceremony, Water Cube bottled water was unveiled.
"The bottled water is the first ever product that uses the name of a modern landmark building in Beijing," Kang said. "The price for the mineral water will be above average and I hope it can be at same level as French water brand Evian."
The water will hit the market in two weeks and a series of products with the Water Cube trademark will gradually be made available, including swimsuits, souvenirs and clothes. The company has registered trademarks for over 40 product categories.
From solicitation and selection for the design to realizing the scheme from the ground up, Kang is the only one who has experienced the whole process since 2002.
He can still remember the impact that the Water Cube's design left on him during the selection period in 2003.
"The scheme for the Water Cube was outstanding. I could imagine at that time that it would be a beautiful venue," Kang said.
Kang was appointed deputy manager of the project in 2002 and saw the venue's creation with his own eyes. He remembers more difficulties than excitement throughout the process.
"Over the past five years, we were solving problems almost everyday," Kang recalled. "But we were able to conquer them with the support of all Chinese people from home and abroad."
The center, which cost 1.02 billion yuan ($141.7 million), is the only Olympic venue funded by donations from the Chinese public. A special area in the venue will be set up to mark the names of donators.
Kang's link to the Olympics goes even further back than his work with the Water Cube.
He was an official in charge of international exchanges for the Beijing municipal government and experienced Beijing's failed bid for the 2000 Olympic Games in 1993.
When Beijing finally won the right to host the 2008 Games in 2001, Kang, who conducted a series of international exchange programs during the bidding period, couldn't hold back tears.
The same emotion hit Kang six years later, when the Water Cube project was successfully completed.
"When the inspection team announced that the venue had passed the completion examination, I was very excited and I had to leave the joyful ceremony for a short while to calm down," he said.
"I felt a heavy load lifted, because in the past five years I have taken the biggest responsibility for coordinating all the departments and adjusted the plan according to the real situation everyday. I can hardly imagine now how I managed to do that."
Kang is also responsible for three Olympic venues: the hockey field, archery field and tennis center.
Kang, who enjoys swimming, running, table tennis and tennis, had to give up sports for his work.
Now, one of his biggest hopes is to swim in the Water Cube.
"I'm too busy to have a swim in the venue now and everyday I dream of swimming in the pool," Kang said with a smile.
