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Friday, December 9, 2011

Beijing Day 02 - National Centre aka The Egg 国家大剧院

The National Centre for the Performing Arts 国家大剧院; and colloquially described as The Bird's Egg, is an opera house.

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.

The exterior of the theater is a titatium ccented 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.


guy selling candies outside The Egg.






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