National Theatre (国家大剧院)

This is the yet-to-be-officially-opened new National Theatre in Beijing. It is different, and enormous. Just take a look at the white dots inside the glasses to the left – they are people! So you can imagine the size of the theatre.

The theatre is immediately to the west of the Great Hall of the People (人民大会堂) and immediately to the south of ZhungNanHai (中南海). Immediately to the west of the theatre, just across the street, is a regular residential area. This is how the houses directly across the street look from the outside.

But peek into the doors and, even better, step inside to take a look. It is in the style of a traditional four-sided courtyard (四合院) - totally different in the style of architecture. But it is also a different world in another sense - compared to the modern, clean and tidy theatre.

I did not make this up. Go and take a look for yourself. But do it quickly, things are changing very quickly. Houses are being torn down, walls are being re-built and re-painted. I cannot guarantee that they still look like this by the time you visit it.

More later.