The Shanghai Grand Opera House, a massive building inspired by a traditional Chinese fan, will open its doors on Oct. 17 after nearly seven years of construction. Kursiv LifeStyle takes a closer look at the striking new venue.
Designed by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta in collaboration with the Shanghai Architectural Design and Research Institute, the building immediately draws attention with its massive roof, shaped like a traditional Chinese hand fan. Its spiral design evokes the fluid movements of a dancer and forms a staircase that allows visitors to ascend to the top.
The roof also connects the structure to the surrounding park and the Huangpu River waterfront, while the upper terrace offers panoramic views of the city.
The opera house has three auditoriums with capacities of 2,000, 1,200 and 1,000 seats and spans nearly 147,000 square meters. By comparison, Astana Opera, Kazakhstan’s largest opera house, covers approximately 90,000 square meters, including its surrounding grounds.
«The design of the Shanghai Grand Opera House is guided by three interrelated ideas: movement, belonging, and experience. Movement acts as both an architectural and social connector, shaping the ways people approach, enter, and move through the building. Experience lies at the heart of the design, informing the atmosphere and spatial sequence encountered by every visitor. Together, these ideas shape a building designed not only for performance, but for public life,» Snøhetta explained on its official Instagram page.
The opera house sits in the Expo Culture Park on the east bank of the Huangpu River. Construction was completed in June 2026.
The Shanghai Grand Opera House design was selected after an international architectural competition in 2016. The architects were appointed to design the project in 2019. At the time, the opera house was scheduled to open in 2023, but the large-scale project took longer than initially planned.
On Oct. 17, the venue will welcome its first audience. The grand opening will feature a performance of «Ode to the Red Flag» by Chinese composer Lü Qiming.