The Shanghai government has begun construction on a new opera house that’s expected to become the crown jewel of the city’s artistic landscape, according to an official announcement Wednesday.

The Shanghai Grand Opera House will boast a spiral rooftop resembling a traditional Chinese fan and will have three auditoriums with a combined seating capacity of 4,200, the announcement said. Covering some 140,000 square meters in Pudong New Area east of the Huangpu River, the opera house will become the city’s premiere performance venue when it opens around the year 2023.

In a bid to become “Asia’s performance capital,” Shanghai has expanded its entertainment offerings in the fine arts this year, hosting productions from Milan’s famed Teatro alla Scala and inaugurating the Shangyin Opera House, part of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, in the city’s downtown Xuhui District. (Image: Tuchong)