Hangzhou Grand Theatre prepares for the G20 Summit with an ETC upgrade

Hangzhou, the capital city of China's Zhejiang Province, a growing e-commerce hub on the country's eastern coast, will host the 2016 G20 Summit. The government has already started a series of infrastructure projects in preparation for the Summit. The Hangzhou Grand Theatre (HZGT) was awarded approximately 7.5 million yuan ($1,160,000 USD) to upgrade its stage-lighting system, 11 years after the theater opened with an ETC lighting system. ETC's Chinese dealer, Hangzhou YiDaShi Lighting Equipment Co. Ltd. (YiDaShi), supplied the theater with ETC's latest innovations, including Source Four® LED Series 2 Lustr® luminaires , Eos Ti® and Gio® lighting-control consoles, and a Sensor® power-control system .

The 55,000-square-meter (592,000-square-foot) HZGT is made up of five venues: the 1,600-seat Opera House, 600-seat Concert Hall, 400-seat Multifunction Hall, Open Air Stage, and 700-seat Cultural Square. An international performing arts venue that stages world-class productions, HGZT wanted to upgrade its traditional lighting rigs to a state-of-the-art color-mixing LED lighting system. "The application of LED technology is now a global trend in modern theater," says Zhong GuoMiao, a senior engineer and director of HZGT's Stage department. They researched many LED fixtures from a variety of manufacturers worldwide, and found that ETC's LED luminaires are the perfect fit for the venue's specifications.

They chose 90 Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr luminaires for HZGT's lighting system, including 26° and 36° spotlights and Source Four LED CYC lights. "ETC's broad-spectrum color options and good color-control are what we were looking for. In particular, they can blend seamlessly with the gel colors of conventional lights," explains Zhong. "It is the only LED source whose design and technology come from a theatrical mindset."

All of HZGT's 14 Sensor dimming racks have been upgraded to the new generation of CEM3 , which has improved connectivity. Additionally, the theater has been equipped with 60 more relay modules, which optimize the ratio of dimming and relay from 12:1 to 4:1, to allow for broader use of intelligent fixtures.

The lighting-control system in the Opera House has also been replaced with an ETC Eos Ti, backed by the compact yet powerful Gio. Eos-family consoles are dedicated and powerful tools for controlling LED fixtures, making control of intelligent fixtures convenient and user friendly. Multiple ETC Net3 Gateways have also been purchased for full ACN-networked functionality. And an ETC Unison® architectural-control system with a variety of control stations and interfaces regulates the houselights and worklights in the facility.

From fixtures to dimming racks, and consoles to networking, ETC is able to provide a full system that can be adapted for any installation, with the stability and durability that HZGT needed in this theater upgrade. "Domestically, we were the first theater to install a complete ETC system. It has served our facility for more than a decade, which is why we completely trust its quality and want to choose it again," says Zhong. "I believe it will continue to offer us more possibilities for stage management. And we're pleased with the technical support from YiDaShi."

After nearly six months of renovation, the reopening of HZGT was December 25th, 2015. A series of programs featuring traditional Chinese and classic Western music is planned for the holidays.