National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), located on the West Chang'an Avenue in the heart of Beijing, is adjacent to the Great Hall of the People and the Tian'anmen Square. NCPA consists of four theatres, including the Opera House, the Concert Hall, the Theatre and the Multi-functional Theatre, and some supplementary facilities, with total floor areas of 217,500 square meters. The entire architectural complex demonstrates a simple but elegant style. The uniquely shaped main structure, crystal-clear water pond and a vast expanse of green space that surrounds NCPA not only showcase the brilliant brightness of the "pearl on the water," but also highlight the design concept and feature integrating the theatre and the city.
Since its inauguration in 2007, NCPA, as a national major cultural project that concentrates the expectations and dreams of generations of Chinese people, has adhered to the guiding principles of "for the people, for art and for the world" and has dedicated to being ranked among key members of prestigious international theatres, supreme palaces of performing arts in China, leaders in arts education and popularization, grand platforms for international arts exchange, and important bases for cultural and creative industry. In a short time, it has developed into one of the world's largest, most modern and first-class national performing arts centre with Chinese characteristics that boasts flourishing art production and satisfying profitability.
In terms of performance operation, NCPA is determined to serve as a "watcher of the starry sky of art" . It upholds the criteria for high-quality and high-standard Chinese and foreign classic arts and operates all projects from the perspectives of both artistic standard and market value. It offers a plethora of art categories, including opera, music, dance, drama, and traditional Chinese opera, to satisfy the people's ever growing demand for a better life. In terms of art production, NCPA keeps pace with the times, pays close attention to the cultural needs of the people, and pushes forward the production of original Chinese works and world classics simultaneously. By establishing a scientific production mechanism, artists at NCPA put their hearts into art production, creating a number of outstanding works featuring cultural profundity, artistic excellence and high quality. In terms of art popularization, NCPA upholds the core value that "art changes life" and continues paying back the public with art and carrying out the "nurturing project" to nourish people's mind and enhance people's quality, thus making the people closer to art and letting art change life. In terms of international art exchange, NCPA keeps a foothold in China and looks into the world. It has not only invited world-class theatres and masters to build a huge platform for the exchange between excellent Chinese and foreign arts and an important "pole" of world performing arts, but also answered the call to promote the export of Chinese culture by taking works with distinct Chinese elements to every corner of the world in tours with the purpose of "telling Chinese stories and spreading Chinese voices" globally.
Over years of operation and development, NCPA has vigorously implemented the branding strategy, globalization strategy and talent strategy. Adopting an institutional mechanism that combines the management mode of a public institution and the operational mode of an enterprise, it has invented and developed the "NCPA model" with art performances, repertoire production, and art popularization as the focus, with communications, exchange, marketing and branding as important methods, and with specialized operation, refined management and high-tech support as the key drivers. In this way, it has effectively achieved the alignment between art and market, charity and commerce, social benefits and economic profits, providing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solution for modern theatre operation.
Located in Taihu Town of Tongzhou District of Beijing, NCPA Taihu Stage Art Centre covers a building area of nearly 600,00 m2, equipped with facilities such as Taihu Theatre, Taihu Open-air Theatre, the Dormitory Building, the Arts Exchange Building, stage art studios, production workshops, container houses, and an underground car park. The Centre specializes in stage designing, scenery construction and development. It also serves as a platform for international stage art exchanges, technical rehearsals, high-art performances and art education, and provides services for warehousing and accommodation. It supports greatly NCPA's repertoire production and its art exchanges with the world. It will facilitate Tongzhou District, the sub-centre of the city to provide better cultural services.
In the future, under the guidance of XI Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, NCPA will continue to uphold its guiding principles, serve the people with art, reinforce cultural confidence, enhance risk awareness, show bravery in innovation, remain true to our original aspiration, and move forward with painstaking efforts, thus consistently playing the leading and guiding role as a national "cultural flagship," building itself into a time-honored brand, and making contributions to promoting China's cultural development and prosperity and meeting the people's ever growing demand for a better life.
