An official in charge of the Beijing Construction Committee disclosed yesterday that the China's National Grand Theater is scheduled to open to performances on October 1 next year. Yesterday, members of the Beijing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference visited part of major works set for this year.

The National Grand Theater in sunset

According to a report by the Beijing Construction Committee, the building projects, underground projects and steel-shell structure for the whole national theater have been completed. At the same time, the works of internal finishing and the installation of stage facilities are under way according to the plan. By November 20 the ceiling structure for three theaters will start. By the end of the first half of next year, stage facilities will be tested and on October 1, the theater will open to performances.

According to a briefing, the first floor of the grand theater is lowered some seven meters than that of the project planned in order that the national theater will be lower than the Great Hall of the People nearby. As a result, the makeup and facilities rooms will be built underground. And the main exits and entries for the north side of the theater will be connected with the present Tian'anmen Xizhan of the subway.

It is introduced that the open-air pools surrounding the theater will be filled with underground water in the four seasons of the year, reaching the state of no ice in winter and no grass in summer. To achieve this goal, a special system of 18 wells has been dug to fill the water pools. The water temperature will always be kept between 2-20 degrees Centigrade.

According to the construction committee, a feasibility report of No 4 subway line and No 10 subway line (including Olympic branch line) has been approved and the construction will start in November.

It is also reported that among the projects set for this year the internal and external finishing work for the new Capital Museum is under way and the museum will be completed by the end of the year. It will greet the conference of Fortune Global Forum in May next year. The project to produce Benz sedans for Beijing Jeeps Company Limited is under way and the construction of the project is set to start in October.

The official pointed out by far the major projects for this year are under smooth construction. Some of projects are under slow construction due to the factors of the state policy of putting land market in order; a new way for buying land and streamlining fixed asset investment.

By People's Daily Online