Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don’t feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy.

I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our proposal won the competition. From beginning to end, I stayed with the project. I am committed to fostering relationships between a city and its architecture.

Any design, any city, any kind of craziness or tragedy, it all comes from a long time of preparation.

If I look at it, I would laugh. I don't know how I became successful.

I don't personally feel any association with a kind of culture related to state, or culture related to power, which I think is always disgusting.

China restricts the society's freedom of speech. The Communist Party imposes these limits because it lacks confidence towards the future and has no ideals. Nowadays, China is experiencing the detrimental effects of such decisions. Its citizens have no creativity.

Even though everybody who looked at me would call me a Chinese artist, that's the 1980s. New York in the '80s was not so interesting. I think it's quite narrow-minded. There wasn't much encouragement or opportunities for any artist - not just Chinese artists.