Beijing's Water Cube is making a big splash with tourists.

Built for last year's Olympics, and site of Michael Phelps' golden performance, the year-old Cube rocketed past dozens of historical attractions to grab the No 2 spot on the city's must-see list.

Along with Bird's Nest stadium, the two Olympic venues are putting a new face on an old capital.

"The Water Cube and the Bird's Nest are now must-sees for tourists to Beijing," said Zhang Huiguang, the Beijing Tourism Administration chief.

"Before the Games, however, the Palace Museum and the Great Wall were the most important," he said.

While the Badaling Great Wall still stands at the top of the list, the 590-year-old Palace Museum, where emperors of both Ming and Qing dynasties lived, retreated to No 3 on the list, according to the survey of more than 14 million netizens in May and June.

The Bird's Nest flew in at No 4.

Lu Ying, a tourist from Jiangsu province, returned with her husband to Beijing, where they spent their honeymoon seven years ago.

"The revisit is worthwhile," she said. "To see the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube with my own eyes was my dream after the Olympic Games."

Organized by the Beijing Tourism Administration, the survey aimed to select 30 scenic spots as candidates from which industry experts will pick 16 attractions that best represent Beijing.

The last time Beijing organized a similar vote, in 1986, Tian'anmen Square topped the list, followed by the Palace Museum, the Great Wall, Beihai Park, the Summer Palace and Xiangshan Mountain.

In the new poll, Tian'anmen Square dropped to No 5, while Beihai Park dropped to No 14.

Other new attractions gaining popularity with tourists include the National Center for the Performing Arts (No 11), the Happy Valley theme park (No 12), Shicha Lake (No 13), Nanluoguxiang (No 22) and the 798 Art Zone (No 23)

Source:China Daily