In Beijing, there are many performance spaces with fine functional positioning and diverse types.

The National Centre for the Performing Arts is located at No. 2 Chang'an Avenue. Since its birth at the end of 2007, this national theater with a unique architectural style has become a sacred place in the hearts of many art lovers and an important performing arts landmark in the capital Beijing. 

The mature and dynamic theater performing arts ecosystem in Beijing includes the national art hall represented by the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the important drama performance town represented by the Capital Theater, the top opera stage represented by the Chang'an Grand Theater and Mei Lanfang Grand Theater, the "well-known brand" of performance venues represented by Tianqiao Art Center, Poly Theater and Beijing Exhibition, and the small theaters represented by Gulou West Theater and Fanxing Theater Village.

In recent years, combined with the characteristics of urban space, Beijing has focused on building a cultural brand of "Huiguan Youxi" by carrying out the construction of characteristic performing arts communities and promoting the exploration of new performing arts spaces. The auspicious theater with a century-old history, the Zhengyici Theater and the Central Opera House Theater comparable to the world-class opera house were reopened to welcome guests. The Dahua Cinema, which carries the memories of several generations of Beijing, was transformed into the Dahua City Performing Arts Center. The Beijing International Theater Center was brilliantly opened, providing spaces for the production and performances of various performing arts activities.

Guild halls carry a variety of regional cultures and are a unique cultural heritage of Beijing. In the second half of 2021, Beijing proposed to build a new performing arts space for the guild hall. A number of guild halls such as Huguang Guild Hall, Paint Guild Hall, and Fuzhou New Hall took the lead in experimenting. Immersive folk-art performances such as Jingkun Bangzi, face changing, monkey play, magic and other performances have been introduced into the guild hall.

The spark of art is lit everywhere. In addition to the city center, the Taihu Dance Art Center in the sub-center of the city and the Shunyi Grand Theater, which fills the gap of comprehensive high-end theatrical performance venues in the Shunyi District, allow ordinary people to appreciate art in a much more convenient way. The city's sub-center theater and Beijing International Children's Art Center are under construction.

In recent years, new performing arts formats such as immersive, interactive and experiential have continued to emerge, and new performing arts spaces and characteristic cultural spaces have become popular places on the internet. While high-standard and professional theaters continue to be constructed, more and more performances are conducted beyond the walls of the theater. Candlelight concerts, chamber music, talk shows, magic dramas and other performance forms loved by young people expand the boundaries of theater art.

Translator: BAO Minmin

Reviewer: ZHANG Ruochen