National Centre for the Performing Arts — Attraction in Beijing

I attended a very nice 3 piece concert in one of the small auditoriums. The concert was excellent, the seats comfortable, and the sound quality superb.

However, the venue itself is difficult to get to except by subway, has no place to sit while waiting to get in (including a coffee shop which is past the ticketing area), and is isolated from any other shops or cafes outside the venue. Since we were only allowed to enter 1 hour prior to the concert and we arrived much earlier hoping to see the facility (there are shops and small museums areas inside) having no place to sit either inside or outside the theatre was extremely inconvenient.

Once inside, the ticketing area, the building is remarkable in its size, shape, and unusually quiet surroundings. Usually when inside such a large enclosed area you hear echoes and the carrying voices and whispers. In this building complex the use of shape and material (the curving ceiling appears covered by wood) made it quiet. That along with the dim lighting made the atmosphere warm.

I will definitely go again to attend other events, but I will take the subway rather than drive and arrive closer to the start...

The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) (simplified Chinese: 国家大剧院; traditional Chinese: 國家大劇院; pinyin: Guójiā dà jùyuàn; literally: National Grand Theatre), and colloquially described as The Giant Egg (巨蛋), is an arts centre containing an opera house in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The Centre, an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake, seats 5,452 people in three halls and is almost 12,000 m² in size. It was designed by French architect Paul Andreu. Construction started in December 2001 and the inaugural concert was held in...

Definitely, this is a masterpiece in terms of design, structural engineering and architecture. Simplicity at its end. Exquisite finishing materials, everything is matching perfectly in details and textures, marble, wood, light and shadows, gloss and soft surfaces. Amazing dimensions of internal space, huge opening horizontal and vertical as well, curves playfulness, impressive sample of new China architecture. In the end, I highly recommend this genuine unique building for a unique space...