Bittersweet symphony

The three-day New Year's holiday was windy and cold. But that didn't stop big crowds from making their way to the newly-opened National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA).

A few days before, a Swiss man surnamed Meyrat spent half an hour at the box-office registering to become a member of the NCPA VIP Club and bought two tickets to a Chinese drama performed by the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center in February.

Seiji Ozawa leads the National Symphony Orchestra of China in a rehearsal for the New Year's concert.

A regular theater-goer who has just started working at a Beijing-based international organization, Meyrat says he liked what he saw of the new egg-shaped center.

"I did not visit the whole venue, but I have been impressed by the outside architecture, it is one of the best theaters in the world," he says.

"It's a shame that all the shows in January have sold out."

Hundreds of visitors descended upon the NCPA during the New Year's holiday. They walked around the "eggshell" surrounded by water, visited the galleries, took photos and checked out the brochures, but to their great disappointment, all the shows in January were sold out.