Designed by French architect Paul Andreu, the NCPA opened in 2007 and is the largest theatre complex in Asia.

The large theatre shell is made up of more than 18,000 pieces of titanium metal plates, covering an area of more than 30,000 m2 (320,000 sq ft).

The buoyancy generated by this groundwater could support a giant aircraft carrier weighing 1 million tons.

The outer layer of the dome coated with nano materials, and when the rain falls on the glass surface, it will not leave water stains.

[6] To test the noise generated by raindrops falling on the domes with ten football fields, the scientists conducted repeated experiments.

Experiments have shown that if effective noise prevention is not carried out, the sound in the entire dome will be like a drum when the rain falls.

[6][5] The location, immediately to the west of Tiananmen Square and the Great Hall of the People, and near the Forbidden City, combined with the theatre's futuristic design, created considerable controversy.

The Opera Hall has an advanced stage with push, pull, ascending, descending and turning functions, tiltable ballet table and an elevating pool which can accommodate up to three bands.

The music hall has the largest organ in the country, which can meet the needs of multiple genres works.

Its unique extended lip design is in line with the characteristics of traditional Chinese theatre performances.

The major cause of the cost increase was a delay for reevaluation and subsequent minor changes as a precaution after a Paris airport terminal building collapsed.

The government sanctioned study completed in 2004 by the Research Academy of Economic & Social Development[11] of the Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, of the upkeep costs of the building were publicized in domestic Chinese media: The water and electricity bills and the cleaning cost for the external surface would be at least tens of millions CNY, and with another maintenance cost, the total could easily exceed one billion CNY.

The director of the art committee of the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the standing committee member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Mr Wu Zuqiang (吴祖强) and the publicist / deputy director of the National Centre for the Performing Arts Mr Deng Yijiang (邓一江) have announced that 70 percent of the tickets would be sold at low price for ordinary citizens, while 10% of the tickets would be sold at relatively expensive prices for separate market segments, and the 60% of annual operating cost needed to be subsidized by the government would be divided between the central government and the Beijing municipal government.