When Beijing’s new international airport terminal opens its doors in early 2008, it would not only enter the record books as the world’s largest airport but also possibly the most luxurious and technological advanced. Occupying more than a million square meters, approximately the size of 235 football fields, the new terminal is bigger than Heathrow’s current terminals combined.
The terminal is designed to handle an estimated 43 million passengers
per year, with projections for an additional 10 million by 2015.
From the air, the terminal is made up of three long curved buildings,
connected by automatic trains. The designers have conceived the
terminal to look like a dragon as evinced by the triangular skylights
that protrude from this gleaming steel structure like dragon scales.
Its golden roof and
red columns, the designers claim, reminds visitors of the Forbidden City.
Dragon or ancient city, one thing is certain: this new airport is
definitely built to impress. And with Beijing hosting the 2008
Olympics, this airport could well be the final piece in China’s
masterplan to announce its coming of 'age' to the world.
en.bcia.com.cn/