CRI听力：The National Grand Theater Should Be a Public Facility

China's National Grand Theater officially opened just before the New Year after six years of construction at a cost of nearly 2.7 billion yuan, or more than 330 million US dollars. Much attention has been directed at the egg-shaped, futuristic building and the whopping sum of money spent on it.

Now, there are stronger voices calling for the theater to become a place where everyone can enjoy arts.

An article in The Beijing News highlights the tough road ahead before the National Grand Theater can become a real public facility.

It notes that for the past six years, the public had been inundated with tons of information about the hardware of the theater, but not much on how the theater will be used as the nation's top center for performing arts. When construction was completed, there were no official statements on the details of such a huge project.

The article further notes that as a public facility, the National Grand Theater is different from the adjacent Great Hall of the People, which has a more political connotation. It says for arts to flourish, more individual involvement is the key.

Bearing the public in mind will be conducive to cultivating a "Grand Theater Culture" in the long run and help the center become an open platform for nurturing the spirit of arts amongst the common folks.