Here's a chance to get up close and personal with performers and artists of the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA): The iconic venue in Beijing hosts its annual Public Open Day. This year, it came last Friday and marked the center's 10th anniversary. The day featured a variety of live performances and activities for visitors to enjoy.

This year, the NCPA has gone to great lengths to satisfy audiences. Visitors can talk to musicians and even make requests for pieces they want to hear.

One visitor said: "I enjoyed today's performances very much. The Chinese are eager for cultural experiences nowadays, especially the performing arts which are the forte of the NCPA. I hope there’ll be more of these public activities."

Another added: "I've been with the NCPA since the very beginning. In fact, I still have the ticket of the NCPA’s opening concert back in 2007. It’s great to see the venue evolving and thriving over the years." 

During the past ten years, the NCPA has hosted 8,000 performances, an average of 800 a year.   Meanwhile, it has put a great deal of effort into the creation and production of 28 plays of various genres of Peking opera, western opera, dramas and dance dramas. 

Wang Zhengming, the vice president of the NCPA, says besides artistic creation and production, the center also stresses education and outreach. 

"In order to make the NCPA an art palace available to the public, we adhere to the value of 'the arts change life' and present organized events like weekend concerts and classic arts lectures. Our goal is to benefit and enrich the public's artistic life. We've had more than 8,000 commercial performances but over 10,000 free art education activities. We’ll continue to produce quality programs in the future," Wang noted.

Besides performances, visitors can also enjoy art exhibitions. The special anniversary is an occasion for the masses to approach art and be surrounded by art in nearly every inch of the NCPA.