Beijing Daxing Airport in China
Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX), also known as New Beijing Airport, is the largest airport in the world. It is also Beijing’s second international airport along with Beijing Capital International Airport. The airport’s design is innovative and its location in the Daxing district (a southern suburb of Beijing) is ideal for serving the Chinese capital and neighboring areas of Hebei and Tianjin. The new hub-mega airport is expected to handle up to 45 million passengers a year by 2021, rising to a remarkable 100 million in the future.
Located on the border between Beijing and Langfang County in Hebei province, Daxing Airport is expected to serve the needs of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei districts. Its location was chosen after careful analysis. Located 46 km from Tiananmen Square, 67 km from Beijing International Airport and 26 km from Lanfang City Center, Daxing Airport aims to become the region’s main airport hub.
One of architect Zaha Hadid’s latest projects
Passenger traffic is expected to be about 45 million people per year by 2021, with plans to increase that figure to 100 million later. The airport has eight runways, all of which will be operational by 2024.
The 700,000-square-meter building of Beijing’s new air gateway was designed by famed Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid shortly before her death in 2016. The six-pointed star-shaped terminal has organic shapes and plenty of natural light. Each of the six arms diverging from the central core is dedicated to traditional Chinese cultural phenomena such as silkscreen, porcelain, and tea. The terminal has more than 80 gates.
Construction lasted four years
The airport was built in four years and 120 billion yuan (15 billion euros) was invested in the project. Including all infrastructure for rail and road transport to the airport, the cost of the airport was 400 billion yuan.
Opened in the late 1950s, Beijing Shawdu Airport in the north of the Chinese capital handles more than 100 million passengers annually. In terms of passenger traffic it is the second largest in the world after Atlanta Airport in the United States. Its third terminal was opened shortly before the 2008 Olympics, but is already experiencing serious congestion.
On October 1, China celebrates the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Communist People’s Republic in 1949.
