After four years of preparation, another landmark theater in Beijing, the Beijing Tianqiao Arts Center (BTAC), will be unveiled on November 20, according to a press conference held by theater management on Thursday.

Set to become the biggest arts center in the southern area of Beijing, the center is looking to implement what it calls an "art plus" model, which will combine traditional theater-going with other consumer needs, Tian Yuan, the general manager of the BTAC, explained at the press conference.

Seeking to popularize theater culture, which is still a minority form of art in China, the BTAC has been designed as a comprehensive cultural center. However, differing from the National Centre of Performing Arts - the largest comprehensive art center in the capital - the BTAC will not only offer performance art venues, but also possess many other cultural facilities so as to attract as large a potential audience as possible.

Free wifi will cover the entire center, enabling up to 3,000 people to access the Internet at one time. Theatergoers can will be able to use this to search for the newest dramas, the lowest prices, parking lots and neighboring restaurants.

"Traditional theaters shut audiences out when there are no shows, but the BTAC will be an open arts center that provides varied activities such as art salons and exhibitions in addition to dramas. Additionally, a huge 4,000-square-meter supporting commercial area in the center will make audiences' time here a better one," said Tian.

Two dramas, The Beijing Fayuan Temple and The Phantom of the Opera, have been chosen to usher in the BTAC's Opening Performance Season on November 20. The former, written by famous Taiwan writer Li Ao, will take the stage under the direction of well-known mainland director Tian Qinxin.

"We don't know whether this 'art plus' model will become a trend for domestic theaters in the future, but I do believe that theaters, by nature, are a public cultural facility that should be closely connected to people's needs," said Tian.

"This model is very mature in some countries overseas, such as the South Bank Art District in London," she told the Global Times.