The center is located in the eastern district of Tainan city. Its main complex comprises antiquity-abundant red-bricked buildings, delicate mini-sized fountains, and extensive stretch of green grassy fields and gardens. Flock with Barclay Memorial Park across the street, the center has become the most comprehensive community of cultures, arts and leisure in the city. The main form of the center consists of three major parts. Viewing from the entrance on Chunghua East Road, the Cultural Artifacts Exhibition Hall is on the left, the Native Theater of International Hall is on the right, and the Performing Hall is in the middle. They are all cubic-shaped, connected by one long hallway, and decorated with Chinese character. A symmetrical structure can be found in the Performance Hall with a wide variety of designs on the shapes and windows on both sides of the center. The whole picture of the building appears simple, concise and powerful. In this grand architecture, the Performance Hall distinguishes itself from the Native Theater of International Hall and the Cultural Artifacts Exhibition Hall by its red-bricked decorations. The three-in-one combination exhibits a brand new style, making a well-furnished cultural palace that lives up to the expectation of Tainan citizens. At the sight of the symbolic classical Chinese architecture of “Palace by Water” and “Winding Bridges with Fountains”, and with the reflections and images of flying swallows around, it makes the visitors feel very comfortable and peaceful.
In the main body of the center, the Performance Hall is a three-floor building with 1803 seats in the fan-shape area. It provides a set of world-class sound, lighting and stage designs to accommodate a wide variety of traditional and modern arts performances. The Native Theater of International Hall, containing 260 seats and comprehensive performance equipment, can be used as a multi-functional small theater. The Conference Room of International Hall provides a nice place for symposiums and workshops. The Cultural Artifacts Exhibition Hall and three other galleries display not only the works of contemporary domestic artists but also world-class artistic and cultural objects. The Art Salon and the Children’s Art Area collect music-related data and provide audio-visual service. The Holiday Plaza and the Starlight Music Plaza provide diverse outdoor performing events to develop audiences.
Right in front of the Performance Hall is a sculpture of phoenix, symbolizing eternity, surrounded by colorful cool fountains. At sunrise or sunset, rainbows are seen around. And a set of sculptures “From the Past to the Future” can be found by the fountain pond. These spots are always the favorite scenes that the tourists try to capture by taking picture.
To achieve the high management efficiency and operational objectives, the center works hard to provide comprehensive hardware facilities for cultural and artistic activities, to organize dynamic cultural activities.
Photo by Hsu,Pei-Hung