Tallest theatre and opera dome

The National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, China, is the world’s tallest dome structure used primarily for theatre and opera. It reaches 46.68 m high and measures 212 m by 144 m across. Owing to its eye-catching ellipsoidal steel shell, clad with titanium and glass, the building is often referred to as "The Giant Egg".

Designed by French architect Paul Andreu with ADPi and BIAD, and completed in 2007 at a cost of US$325 million, the 180,000-square-metre-gross floor area of the Giant Egg houses an opera house (2,398 seats), a concert hall (2,019 seats), two theatres (1,035 and 556 seats), 52 elevators and 36 escalators.

The project is surrounded by a public square and 35,500-square-metre artificial lake.