Joined by a globally renowned orchestra, Shanghai Oriental Art Center celebrated its 20th birthday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Joined by a globally renowned orchestra, Shanghai Oriental Art Center celebrated its 20th birthday Wednesday, during which its upcoming star-studded autumn and winter show season was unveiled.

Officially opened to the public on July 1, 2005, the center, designed in the shape of a moth orchid, has since become a cultural landmark in the city. Over the past two decades, the center has taken in total revenue of over 1.34 billion yuan ($187.76 million), drawing more than 11 million guests with an average attendance rate of 80 percent of capacity.

Joined by a globally renowned orchestra, Shanghai Oriental Art Center celebrated its 20th birthday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Connecting artists and audiences while bridging Shanghai and the world, the center has laid on diverse and high-quality offerings, including symphony, recital, opera and drama.

A number of internationally acclaimed artists who have performed at the center sent greetings to the celebrations, while the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, led by principal conductor Nikolay Alexeev and pianist Daniel Kharitonov, presented a special program on Wednesday night to mark the special occasion.

Joined by a globally renowned orchestra, Shanghai Oriental Art Center celebrated its 20th birthday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

As part of the center's 48-production autumn and winter show season, Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev and the Rachmaninoff International Orchestra will make their Asia debut in October. In what will be their only show in China, they will present a full set of Rachmaninoff's piano concerto on two consecutive nights.

The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, which made a sensational first visit to Shanghai at the center 20 years ago, will present two shows with different programs in November. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra will also perform in the same month, working with conductor Christian Thielemann to present Austrian and German classics over two nights.

Joined by a globally renowned orchestra, Shanghai Oriental Art Center celebrated its 20th birthday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

At the center's Opera Hall, the Moscow Art Theatre will bring The Seagull to Shanghai for the first time in August. It will be followed by two more highly acclaimed dramas presented by the Vakhtangov State Academic Theatre of Russia in September, Eugene Onegin and Uncle Vanya, both of which will be making their Chinese debuts.

While introducing overseas works to China, the center has also been making efforts to tell Chinese stories to the world, with original productions such as the Road to Victory and Unknown Heroes, as well as dance drama Thunderstorm.

The center is also planning to expand comedic productions, cultivate more talent and provide audiences with more diverse, innovative and high quality offerings.

Joined by a globally renowned orchestra, Shanghai Oriental Art Center celebrated its 20th birthday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]