National Grand Theatre

The National Grand Theatre is located at the center of Beijing, west of Tian’anmen Square, the western side of the Great Hall of People and the south of West Chang’an Avenue. National Grand Theater is mainly composed of its main building and underwater corridor, the underground parking, artificial lake and greenbelt at the south and north flanks, covering an area of 118,900 m2.

Construction

National Grand Theater has a half-ellipsoid-shaped steel shell as the outer structure. Its planar projection has a long axis of 212.20 meters from the east to the west and a minor axis of 143.64 meters from the south to the north. The height of the building is 46.285 meters, which is 3.32 meters lower than the building of the Great Hall of People. The deepest section of its foundation is 32.5 meters below ground, which equals the height of a 10 story building. The shell structure of the building is pieced together with more than 18,000 Titanium plates whose area exceeds 30,000 square meters, and among which only 4 pieces are shaped exactly the same way. After a special oxidation treatment, the titanium plates have a surface with a great metallic quality that won’t change its color for 15 years. The central area of the shell is a gradually-opened glass curtain wall composed with more than 1200 pieces of ultra-clear glass joining together. The half-ellipsoid-shaped shell is surrounded by an artificial lake with an area of 35,500 m2. All the channels and entrances to the theatre are set under the water. Passengers need to pass through an 80-meter- long underwater channel to enter the hall.

The National Grand Theater has new and advanced model and unique design which is the combination of tradition and modern, romance and reality. This “theater in a city, a city within a theater” quietly unveils itself before the public as “a fantastic pearl in the lake,” dedicated to the new century.

Best Touring time: All year

Touring Time: 1 hour

Address: No.2 West Chang’an Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing