National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA)

The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), and colloquially described as The Giant Egg, is 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 December 2007.

With an excellent location to the west of Tiananmen Square and the Great Hall of the People, it is very near the Forbidden City. The exterior of the theater is a titanium accented glass dome that is completely surrounded by a man-made lake. It is said to look like an egg floating on water, or a water drop. It was designed as an iconic feature, something that would be immediately recognizable.

The dome measures 212 meters in east–west direction, 144 meters in north–south direction, and is 46 meters high. The main entrance is at the north side. Guests arrive in the building after walking through a hallway that goes underneath the lake. The titanium shell is broken by a glass curtain in north–south direction that gradually widens from top to bottom.

National Centre of the Performing Arts of Beijing, stands the highest level of performing house in China, counterparting with famous Broadway Theatre of New York city. As the most bright spiritual symbol, National Centre of the Performing Arts once was highly praised by USA Today as a strong evidence for increasing comprehensive strenghs of China for its perfect modern architecture and highest status in Performing Arts and Music.
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