China’s new National Theater, a.ka. the ‘Egg’ and ‘National Center for the Performing Arts’, opened for its first performances in the last few days of 2007. As even this People’s Daily article mention, the design of the theater by Frenchman Paul Andreu has caused a fair bit controversy. Objections have ranged from complaints that the building has destroyed the feng shui of the city’s master plan to worries that the pool of water surrounding the building is wasteful in a city that can barely get enough water for domestic and industrial uses.
But the building is quite a sight; from some angles — breathtaking.
Blogger Toomanytribbles has posted a slide show of photos of the building, including the image above.