The Shanghai Oriental Art Center (), abbreviated SHOAC, is one of the leading

performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

and cultural facilities in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. The five interconnected hemispherical halls or "petals" are shaped to resemble a

butterfly orchid Butterfly orchid is a common name for several orchids and may refer to: * ''Psychopsis'', any species * ''Platanthera'', any species * '' Sarcochilus'', several species * '' Anacamptis papilionacea'' (formerly in ''Orchis'') * ''Encyclia tampensis' ...

from above.SHOAC
"Prelude".
/ref> They comprise the Entrance Hall, the

Concert Hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention ...

, the Opera Hall, the Performance Hall, and the

Exhibition Hall A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

. The high-tech ceiling changes color during the night to reflect the nature of the performances inside. Located off

Century Avenue Century Avenue () is a major street in Pudong, Shanghai. It begins near the Oriental Pearl Tower and ends at Yanggao Road, in a pedestrianised section leading to Century Park (Shanghai), Century Park. Major Landmarks There are many major land ...

Pudong Pudong is a list of administrative divisions of Shanghai, district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu River, Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank (g ...

, the SHOAC was opened with a New Year's Eve concert in 2004 and officially opened on July 1, 2005.

History

The facility was jointly constructed by the

Shanghai Municipal Government The Shanghai Municipal People's Government is the local administrative agency of Shanghai. It is officially elected by the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and is formally responsible to the SMPC and its Standing Committee. The municipal gove ...

and Pudong New Area Government on a budget of 1.1 billion RMB. The right to operate its grounds were won by the Poly Culture and Arts Company in September 2003; they then partnered with the

Wenhui-Xinmin United Press Group The Shanghai United Media Group (SUMG) is a state media company of the People's Republic of China overseen by the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The headquarter of the Group is located at 755 Weihai Road in S ...

to establish the Shanghai Oriental Art Center Management Company, Limited. This company continues to manage the property and its subsidiary facilities, despite Poly's interest having been replaced by Beijing Poly Theatre Management in June 2009 and WXUPG's by the

Shanghai United Media Group The Shanghai United Media Group (SUMG) is a state media company of the People's Republic of China overseen by the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The headquarter of the Group is located at 755 Weihai Road in S ...

in January 2014.

Performances

Various cultural and musical performances are held in the center, beginning from the 2005

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

Shanghai Concert. It's a regular venue for concert performances and its popular "Chinese Traditional Opera Series" hosts performances by the

China National Opera The China National Opera House (CNOH) or China Central Opera (中央歌剧院) is a State-run opera company based in Beijing, China, and under the Ministry of Culture (China), Chinese Ministry of Culture. CNOH consists of an opera troupe, a choir ...

, the

Shanghai Jingju Theatre Company Shanghai Jingju Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Shanghai, China, which produces Jingju (i.e. Peking Opera). It was founded in 1955, with Zhou Xinfang its director. The Shanghai Beijing-Opera Theatre is at 168 Yueyang Road, Xuhui, ...

and Shanghai Kunqu Company, and the Shanghai Yueju Opera Troupe. The OAC's Saturday Brunch Concerts claim audiences of over every year.

Facilities

Architecture

The building was designed by French architect

Paul Andreu Paul Andreu (10 July 1938 – 11 October 2018) was a French architect, known for his designs of multiple airports such as Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, and multiple prestigious projects in China, including the National Centre for the Per ...

and the

Huadong Architectural Design & Research Institute Huadong may refer to: *East China (华东, ''Huádōng'') * Huadong, Guangdong (花东), a town in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China * Huadong, Guangxi (化峒), a town in Jingxi, Guangxi, China * Huadong Subdistrict, Huanghua (骅东街道), a subdistri ...

. The façades are mainly

laminated glass Laminated glass is a type of safety glass consisting of two or more layers of glass with one or more thin polymer interlayers between them which prevent the glass from breaking into large sharp pieces. Breaking produces a characteristic "spider ...

incorporating perforated metal sheets. The dark

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

floors and multi-layered glass screen walls aim to create a softly diffused forest floor effect. The separate "petals" of the construction are hung with large distinctly colored pebbles to differentiate them.SHOAC
"Freezing Notes."
/ref> The backstage facilities include an Orchestra Rehearsal Hall, Choir Rehearsal Hall, Dance Rehearsal Hall, and Integrated Rehearsal Hall.

Concert Hall

The Concert Hall has 1953 seats, a computer-controlled elevating stage, and an 88- diapason 5-layer

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

's Rieger Pipe Organ. It houses 2 VIP and 7 regular

dressing rooms A changing room, locker room (usually in a sports, theater, or staff context), or changeroom (regional use) is a room or area designated for changing one's clothes. Changing-rooms are provided in a semi-public situation to enable people to ch ...

Opera Hall

The Opera Hall has 1015 seats, divided into three areas and designed to recreate the intimate experience of

Italian opera houses This is a list of notable opera houses listed by continent, then by country with the name of the opera house and city. The opera company is sometimes named for clarity. Africa Egypt * Alexandria Opera House, Alexandria * Cairo Opera House ...

. The

orchestra pit An orchestra pit is an area in a theatre (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. The orchestra plays mostly out of sight in the pit, rather than on the stage as for a concert, when providing music fo ...

is and able to accommodate up to 100 musicians. The central stage provides computer-controlled side, ice, and ballet platforms in addition to the main large-scale platform. It houses 2 VIP and 15 common

Performance Hall

The Performance Hall has 333 seats and is modeled on semicircular Roman theaters. Its performance floor is golden

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

pearwood Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the sa ...

. It has 4

Exhibition Hall

The Exhibition Hall is located on the second floor of its petal of the Oriental Art Center. It covers and has high walls.SHOAC
"Auxiliaire Facilities."
/ref>

Other facilities

The venue also features ancillary public facilities, including the 100-seat Paris Shanghai French restaurant open daily for lunch and dinner, the Café Salon Etoile and an adjacent gift store, and 11

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

training classrooms. The Shanghai Gallery of Antique Music Boxes and Automata is located at the SHOAC, displaying over 200 antique

music box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces Musical note, musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder (geometry), cylinder or disc to pluck ...

es and European

automata An automaton (; : automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions. Some automata, such as bellstrikers i ...

, including the oldest extant music box in the world, constructed in 1796 by

Antoine Favre-Salomon Antoine Favre-Salomon (30 November 1734 – 17 August 1820) was a Swiss watchmaker. In 1796, he invented a pocket watch with an embedded musical mechanism. which was later recognised as the first "comb" music box. One of his surviving music boxes ha ...

.SHOAC
"Antique Music Box Gallery."
/ref>

Outreach

The Oriental Art Center engages with the broader public through free admission days every month, reduced-fare student tickets, and weekly lectures on art and music appreciation.

References

External links

* {{authority control Buildings and structures in Shanghai Tourist attractions in Shanghai Opera houses in China Theatres in Shanghai Culture in Shanghai Pudong 2002 in Shanghai Shanghai United Media Group