The sole International Airport serving the Capital of China, Beijing, is Capital Airport. Beijing Capital International Airport is located to the North-East of the central City in Shunyi District of Beijing.
Shunyi is one of the six outer suburbs of the City and is connected to the central City by means of the Airport expressway, which is a Toll Road, and, since the opening of Terminal 3 in 2007, is connected via light rail - the airport express train- to the Beijing Subway System.
For most International visitors and may Chinese, the first sight they have of Beijing is the sight of Beijing Capital Airport. The Airport is thus a showcase for the modern city.
Capital Airport has currently 114 International Airlines, 136 Domestic airlines and an annual passenger handling capacity of over 75 million persons. Cargo handling capacity exceeds 1 million tons and keeps rising every year.
Completed in 2007, Beijing saw a complete overhaul of the Cities public transportation system, as well as the construction of a completely new and superlarge Terminal at Capital Airport.
Sized at a staggering 350.000 square meters and a cost of 2.02 Billion U.S. dollars (16.7 billion RMB) , the new National Airport is much larger than the current. The new terminal is twice the size of the old airport and terminals, brings the passenger handling capacity to over 75 million persons have parking-space for 10.000 cars, an improved area for receiving Taxi's, and has been combined with a city subway and national railway station, giving more direct and easier acces to the City, and the country of China.
The New Airport terminal ...
featuring the new China Central Television Building, part of a completely new and modern Chaoyang CBD Central Business District.
The new design for what has become Terminal 3 at Beijing Airport, was chosen in an open competition from 7 finalist, and was created by the dutch combination of Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO) Company and Foster & Arup group.
Cast in grandeur and ultramodern the design of the new terminal resembles a cross-section of the Eiffel-Tower in Paris, as seen from above. It will be a proud Gateway for visitors into the New Capital of Beijing, and especially the world public, expected to arrive with the August 2008 Olympics of Beijing.
