Shanghai Oriental Art Center Shanghai Oriental Art Center

Located in LuJiaZui Financial & Trade Zone of Pudong New Area, Shanghai Oriental Art Center(SHOAC)is one of most significant cultural landmarks of Shanghai. Built jointly by Shanghai Municipal Government and Pudong New Area Government on an investment budget of 1.1 billion RMB it was designed by the award-winning French architect Paul Andreu. Its overall building area covers 40,000 square meters; from above you will distinguish the five domes of SHOAC. The main entrance hall, the Performance Hall, the Concert Hall, the Exhibition Hall and the Opera Hall form a composition that reminisces a beautiful butterfly orchid in full bloom.

In September of 2003 the owner of SHOAC launched a public tender which was eventually won by Poly Culture & Arts Co., Ltd. (it was transfered to Beijing Poly Theatre Management Co., Ltd.in June 2009).As a result a joint-venture co-operation was established between Poly Culture & Arts and Wenhui Xinmin United Press Group(it was altered to Shanghai United Media Group in January,2014)with the Shanghai Oriental Art Center Management company being set up to be responsible for all the management and operations of SHOAC and its subsidiary facilities. Ours is one of the nation’s leading and most successful examples of theater management and systematic innovation in its practice.

From the day of its formal inauguration on July 1st 2005 untill now, SHOAC has hosted many high-level performances. For example and as a deserved testimony of its impact, on the city the Berliner Philharmonic Shanghai Premiere Concert was cited as one of “2005 Shanghai Ten Major Cultural News”. No wonder SHOAC has been selected as “Shanghai Top Ten Fashion Landmarks” and praised as “The Latest High Art Release Place in Shanghai”.

In March 2006, SHOAC organized a large-scale vote on “Our Ten Favorite Orchestras” and invited all ten chosen orchestras to perform in Shanghai. The vote winners were awarded the “Golden Prize of Chinese Ten Major Performances”.

In July 2006, SHOAC took the lead to compose the performance season in line with international standards and the world’s foremost theaters. The artistic aspiration of SHOAC, summarized as “Go to the SHOAC to enjoy a symphony concert”, is well-known domestically and abroad. It is no coincidence that it is the only theater in Mainland China where Berliner Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concerts have been held until now. Our ambition of building “an artistic platform for both the worldwide premiere of Chinese works and the premiere of foreign works in China” is being gradually realized. The “Chinese Traditional Opera Series”, offering traditional Chinese arts and having been held for years now, is ever well received by the public. The Saturday Brunch Concerts, also quite popular among the public, attracts an audience of over 100,000 every year. The all-year-round free admission days, art appreciation lectures, music permeation lectures and SHOAC art lectures do constitute part of our public welfare and engagement. The “free admission days every month, the public lectures every week and the student tickets at every performance”, have been widely welcomed. In November 2006 we became the first theater of China to pass the ISO9001 quality management system certification and the ISO14001 environmental management system certification approved by the China Quality Certification Center.

SHOAC is one of “Nine Major Brands in Chinese Performance and Culture”，and is aiming to become "leading, Asia-class, world-famous". To do so we will stay at the vanguard of management, reform and institutional innovation. Our development is a booster of the “cultural metropolis Shanghai,” of international cultural exchange, of building "co-existence, among Chinese and foreign,” of “public and business partnerships” of “multi-dimensional networking,” and of actively exporting the success of China's modernization road to theater management. Maestro Zubin Mehta made a revealing comment to SHOAC upon seeing the season’s calendar during his visit in 2009: “ It’s amazing to find such an international level venue in Shanghai!”

SHOAC 's core concept is "Enjoying the art, enjoying the service". It is targeting No.1 in China, leading in Asia and world-wide famous. It's the leading the revolution of Chinese theater management structure. It is the catalyst for building Shanghai Metropolis and a world-class platform for international art and culture communication and exhibition.

SHOAC is trying to build a comprehensive network for multiple styles of music, whether classic or popular, chinese or western, public or commercial purpose. It is actively seeking the path to ultimate successful Chinese contemporary modern theater management structure.

The world-wide well-known conductor, Maestro Zubin Mehta visited SHOAC. After realizing the whole operation structure and performance season calendar, he commented, "I am totally shocked to see such a world-class level art center for music in Shanghai, China! Chicago Tribune also made accomplishments on SHOAC's contribution to China's culture boom,and regarded it as"the catalyst for change throughout the region."