National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing, China

5Eegulleye 5:00 PM Nov 29, 2013

Stunning venue; professional performances; worth the visit but plan well
The NCPA is a stunning venue. There are three aspects to visiting, which can be combined in one trip (with good planning and timing) or can be done individually. The building and surrounding man-made lake are both exciting and calming to view from the outside. By day, the dull gray structure seems to float on the water. It is especially stunning on a clear blue-sky day, but also has character when the skies are half gray, as they more often are. By night it is illuminated with lights of varying color, and is very striking against the black water and sky. It is quite large so allow extra time of you wish to walk all the way around. No charge for exterior viewing. To visit the inside, one can either buy a ticket to attend a performance (usually evening) or by day, buy a ticket to tour the building. The daytime tour ticket gives access to the inside of the shell, but not to the inside of the three theaters within the shell. If visiting when it is light outside (daytime, or prior to a performance during summer) it is quite an experience to walk through the long entry corridor and gaze upward to the glass ceiling with the man-made lake above. The interior walls, floors, and fixtures are expertly crafted with unique and costly marbles, woods, and metals. There is a small but interesting museum along the entry corridor, and there is a cafe on the main theater level. The cafe food is limited to sandwiches and cakes, but at least there is something if you've arrived hungry. The gift shop has some unique items. The three theaters are, as their names suggest, differentiated for concerts, theater, or opera. The acoustics are very good, and the views are generally very good from all seats. The seats themselves are comfortable, however all of the theaters have a MAJOR flaw which is that there is very little space between the rows - so little in fact that an average sized person will find his/her legs right up against the row in front, or will struggle to claim a few inches to the left or right. Planning: as others have mentioned, those who have tickets to performances cannot enter until one hour prior, which severely limits the amount of time one can visit the museum, gift shop, cafe, and enjoy the public spaces. But for visitors who wish to see it all and must do it on one day: first purchase a ticket for a 7:30pm performance, which can be done online in advance or at the box office; arrive at 5:30-6:00pm to spend 30-60 minutes walking around outside; enter the theater at 6:30pm and spend 45-60 minutes in the public spaces; 7:30pm enjoy your performance. There is a bag and coat check immediately beyond the ticket and security checkpoint. No food, drink, or cameras are allowed (but no limitations on smartphones - go figure) however if you don't have any of those things you can keep your bag/coat if you prefer. As mentioned seats are tight so checking what you don't want to carry is convenient. The performances are well-done and often presented by the best of Chinese and foreign troupes and musicians. Program literature is usually available for performances, but only in Chinese, so if you are really attending for the performance and don't read Chinese, then do your online research before you go. The Centre can be directly accessed from the subway (but note the last train is around 11pm). There is also underground car and bicycle parking. As a resident of Beijing, I often visit for performances. NCPA is a must see for anyone interested in architecture or who needs a bit of culture.

4CDEMOM 5:00 PM Jun 23, 2012

Nice art space
Its very pretty space to view the architecture, the art etc. Take a coffee break at the coffee shop and enjoy the free afternoon concert if they have one. The gift shop has a nice assortment of souvenirs (better than the street vendors and reasonable prices). Visiting ticket is $40 Rmb Easy access via the Subway Line #1, get off at Tiananmen Xi Station (Tiananmen West), walk to exit C which will lead you directly to the entrance of the NCPA.