The other day I was visiting Shunyi, a satellite town some 30 km northeast of Beijing, when I stumbled upon the newly-built Baima Road leading to the Olympic rowing-canoeing park, which will host the rowing, canoeing and open water swimming events next summer.

People try to take pictures of the Bird's Nest over the fence of the construction site. [China Daily/The Olympian]

I'd heard that the road would provide athletes with easy access to the venue within 30 minutes. Sure enough, before long I was already outside the park, taking in its expansive lake and lush woods in the glorious fall sunshine.

"May I go in to take a walk?" I asked one of the guards at the main entrance, peeking at the oasis of tranquility inside.

"No, the test event has already finished and no visitors are allowed," he said. His smile soon disappeared as I pressed on. I was told I needed to get special permission from some important-sounding authority if I really wanted to go in.

I learned afterwards that I probably wouldn't be able to visit the park again until the next test event in six months' time. Of course, I can visit it during the Games provided I can get a ticket; or, if I'm patient enough, I can wait till after the Games, when the venue is to be converted into a world-class water park.

But what about getting more people excited now, while the mood of the Olympics is already in the air and people are encouraged to participate?

This summer, people were intrigued when some "Olympic sand" was shipped from the southern island of Hainan to Beijing's Chaoyang Park to help complete the Olympic beach volleyball venue.

To their delight, the park has since built an "experiential beach volleyball court" near the venue with the same thin and fine sand for visitors to feel and play with one year ahead of the Games.

So can other venues do the same, organizing similar public demonstrations while maintaining Olympic security standards?

At the moment, public curiosity about the Bird's Nest and Water Cube is at an all-time high as the two signature structures are near completion.

After waiting four years, the public will finally get to enter the Bird's Nest, or National Stadium, before the Games opens next August, some media enthused last week.

However, most Olympic fans will have only two chances to view the architectural triumph and the windows of opportunity will be short. The Olympic venue is scheduled to open to the public during an international racewalk championship from April 18-19 and a track and field event from May 22-25.

The Bird's Nest has attracted the most attention because it will hold the opening and closing ceremonies for the Games.

A stone's throw away, the Water Cube, or National Aquatics Center, is also scheduled to open to the public for several days for swimming and diving competitions in February and April.

While anxiously waiting for ticketing details for the test runs -- one may catch a glimpse of none other than Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang next May -- I wonder if many fans will be disappointed when they realize they cannot visit the venues at these times for whatever reason, especially as Olympic tickets to the Bird's Nest and Water Cube are proving difficult to get.

Maybe we should also spare a thought for the thousands of travelers from other provinces or from abroad who visit Beijing hoping for a closer look at these beautiful structures, as many of them may not return to the capital next summer.

Email: yuanzhou@ chinadaily.com.cn