The Shandong Grand Theatre is Jinan's main concert hall and performing arts center, a striking piece of contemporary architecture in the eastern New City district. The building was designed by Arata Isozaki and opens in a form inspired by musical notation — a smooth curved exterior of aluminum and glass that reads as a continuous surface from any angle. It is one of the more interesting contemporary buildings in the city.
The theatre program covers classical music, ballet, opera, and touring theatrical productions, with a busy season from September through June. Checking what is on during your visit is worthwhile; international touring productions are more common here than in most Chinese provincial capitals. The New City district around it has the characteristic overscaled civic grandeur of Chinese new urban zones.