The latest installment in the ongoing quest to cover the exorbitant costs of the Bird’s Nest’s upkeep will see a new 4,500-sqm restaurant open this month on the third floor of the stadium, according to China Daily. It is still unclear whether diners will need to pay the RMB 50 stadium admission to get into the new establishment.

The Olympic Games may be long gone but a nagging uncertainty over what to do with the iconic Birds Nest, which has gone from waidi (外地) tourist attraction, to would-be football stadium, possible shopping mall and a temporary "Snow and Ice World," has lingered ever since.

In its ecstatic pre-Olympic frenzy, China dropped more than USD 40 billion to remake Beijing, constructing 15 venues and renovating (or redecorating) 14 others. Faster than you can say “280 billion renminbi,” many of those structures came tumbling down (baseball diamonds at Wukesong), went reverting back (the triathlon venue at Ming Tomb Reservoir), were remodeled (Olympic Sports Center Stadium) or re-imagined (Water Cube). Here are the venues that are still open to the public.

For those who want to relive Olympic memories or just visualize how it all went down, these monumental structures hold a special ability to awe, surprise or excite. That, after all, is the least that USD 40,000,000,000 can buy.

A year ago, they won glory for China. So what are these gold medalists doing now?

何雯娜 He Wenna, 20 – Trampoline
Women’s Trampoline

This bouncy star has been inundated with sponsorship offers because of her gold medal and, more importantly, her looks. She has shied away from the entertainment business but she is said to have earned RMB 20 million from endorsements in 2008. Currently training for next year’s Asian Games in Guangzhou, her next goal is to marry a “talented gentleman” by 21 and have a baby as soon as possible. She added that she wants to “leave the kid to her parents to look after so she can go out to have fun.”

Chinese Olympic diving star, Guo Jingjing, and her national teammates have spent their free time modelling. According to leaked photos they have been used to advertise goods for an as yet unnamed electronics company. The star of the Beijing Olympics is a world-class diver but we'll let you decide where on the podium she ranks for making you want to buy electrical goods.

More diving news, and there's no such thing as enough diving news, regards Fu Mingxia. The leaping legend is "suspected to be pregnant" for the fourth time following the release of papparrazzi shots from Hong Kong. Fu already has three children so a fourth will match her haul of Olympic golds.