Tianqiao Performing Arts Center in Beijing

According to Tian, the biggest theater is designed as a venue for musicals since the art form is "great family entertainment and caters to audiences of a wide age range".

The opening show is Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, The Phantom of the Opera, which is ongoing at the venue through Jan 10. One of the most successful musicals in the world, Phantom premiered in London's West End in 1986 and has played more than 70,000 shows in 29 countries.

Phantom made its debut on the Chinese mainland in 2004 at the Shanghai Grand Theater and then returned to the city in 2013. It also visited Guangzhou this fall.

"It took years for us to finally bring the show to Beijing," says Tian, who has since 1999 been in discussions to bring the show to the capital with the musical's London-based production company, Really Useful Group, which Webber founded in 1977.

However, a suitable theater for the stage setting had been lacking until now.

"With The Phantom of the Opera, it's quite thrilling to be in this new venue to deliver what we have been delivering in the world," says Kerry Comerford, vice-president, Asia Pacific, of the production company.

"We have been involved in more than 450 seasons in cities throughout the world during the last 22 years. Over 160 of those seasons have been in the Asian region and a third of those have been in China. It's quite a big sector of our activity," she says.

Back in 2001, the company worked with China Performing Arts Agency to bring two shows of The Music Of Andrew Lloyd Webber to Beijing and Shanghai.