Xi'an Grand Theatre

Xi'an — Chang'an of the Tang dynasty, and for centuries the eastern beginning of the Silk Road — acquired a full complement of modern performing-arts buildings during the theatre-building wave that swept China's provincial capitals after 2000. The Grand Theatre belongs to that generation: a large multi-purpose house whose calendar mixes touring symphonic and operatic programmes with dance, drama and Chinese traditional music. Winter brings the New Year concerts that have become a fixture of Chinese concert life, and with them the visiting European ensembles that play them.