Beijing Concert Hall

Just off Chang'an Avenue in Xicheng, the Beijing Concert Hall opened in 1985 as the first purpose-built professional concert hall in China — designed for sound rather than adapted from a theatre. Fifteen reflective panels hang above the stage in three groups, spreading the orchestra through a room that seats over a thousand; exhibitions occupy the upper floors. Its programmes run from the Western symphonic repertoire to Chinese classical music, and for visiting orchestras on New Year tours it has become one of the fixed points of the Beijing season.