National Centre for the Performing Arts

The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), nicknamed 'The Giant Egg' (大蛋) by Beijingers, is the city's premier opera, concert, and theater venue. Designed by French architect Paul Andreu and completed in 2007, the titanium-and-glass ellipsoid dome (212m long, 144m wide, 46m high) floats in the middle of an artificial reflecting lake — visitors enter via an underwater corridor leading from the surrounding plaza. Inside are three main halls: a 2,398-seat opera house, a 2,019-seat concert hall, and a 1,035-seat theater. Just west of Tiananmen Square — pair with the Forbidden City day. Tours of the interior available 9:00-17:00 (40 RMB ticket); the architecture is worth the visit even without a performance. The outdoor plaza and reflecting pool are free to walk, especially photogenic at dusk when the dome is uplit.