Now Boarding....

[dancing-loon]

Now boarding at world's biggest air terminal

Shaped like a dragon, gargantuan building designed to handle 50 million passengers a year

BEIJING – In the latest sign of its Olympic frenzy, Beijing has opened the world's biggest airport, an enormous dragon-shaped building 31/4 kilometres in length, built in record speed after the eviction of 10,000 villagers from the site.

The new terminal, almost 20-per-cent bigger than all five terminals of London's Heathrow Airport combined, features an ultra-modern baggage system and a Canadian-designed shuttle train to help people navigate its vast interior.

Six airlines, including British Airways, began using the new terminal Friday. Another 20 airlines, including Air Canada, will shift to the new terminal on March 26.

The $3.75-billion terminal, one of the most prestigious projects of the Olympic construction boom in Beijing, was built by 50,000 workers who toiled on shifts around the clock. It took only four years to finish the terminal, compared with 20 years for the fifth terminal at Heathrow.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl.../International

Before I kiss this world Good Bye I'd like to fly there and see it for myself!!
China certainly is up and coming and.... surpassing!:lol:

 

[harleyhunny]

Not really interested in China or travel there. What I would like to see before they dissappear are the islands around Bora Bora, they say will be gone in 50 years or so.
Not this year though, when we leave this year for our annual winter getaway, we are driving down to the Baja, and spending four months in Mexico. So we think that the following year we might go to these islands, or when we officially retire in five years, (55, yehaw).
I seen a brief glimpse of this on the news the other day about this airport, at first I thought I heard them say they have opened this airport to the public. I thought at first it was private before. The news clip was a bit confusing.
Well BC is building up for their waste of time and money Olympics, glad we are selling home and getting out, we do not want to be paying for this for years to come, and paying for something that just does not interest me makes me ill. (not into winter, or winter sports).
But countries, provinces, states, etc, sure put on the ritz for these events, at the expense of the little hard working guy. Remember government/poor (or those that won't work) never pay, tax payers do.

 

[lone wolf]

It doesn't make a lot of sense right now - but in thirty years they aren't going to have Pickering or Mirabel controversays either. Sad to see the ancestral lands of ten villages vanish in the mouth of the dragon though.

Woof!