The Great Hall was built in the mid-1950s, at the end of the first decade of the People's Republic, as an assembly and performance venue for the new municipality. Its architects combined a large circular auditorium with a domed roof and a classical colonnade, producing a building that is unmistakably of its period and unlike anything else in the city.
The building
The main hall seats several thousand people under a shallow golden dome, with a broad flight of steps and a colonnade of tall columns forming the entrance front. The wings are symmetrical and low, and the whole composition is set on a raised terrace. From the steps on a clear evening you can see the city's towers rising behind and around it, which gives the building a strange and appealing contrast with the glass skyline.
People's Square
The square in front is one of the largest in the city and is used all day: morning exercise, kite flying, evening dancing, photo sessions. It is a good place to sit and watch the city at dusk, when the Great Hall is lit and the surrounding towers switch on.
Performances
The hall stages concerts, opera and dance performances, including Sichuan opera and touring classical programs. Tickets are inexpensive by international standards and the interior is worth seeing. Ask at your hotel or check the program at the box office on the north side.
Practical notes
The Great Hall is in the Yuzhong district, on the metro and about a ten-minute drive from Jiefangbei, Chongqing's central shopping area. It is free to walk around the square and there is a modest fee for entry to the building when it is open to visitors. Combine it with a walk down to the river or a ride on the Yangtze cable car.
