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Officially opened in late September, Beijing’s new Daxing International Airport (PKX) is now the world’s largest airport terminal, spanning 7.5 million square feet—the equivalent of 98 soccer fields. With the runways and annexes, its whole surface covers 18 square miles. It cost $11 billion to build (80 billion yuan), and it’s slated to handle 300 takeoffs and landings an hour in its initial stages alone. It's about an hour away from the Beijing Capital International Airport, which is located northeast of the city and a major hub in and of itself.
If everything goes to plan, it will also be the globe’s busiest airport, with 45 million passengers expected to pass through it by 2021, 72 million by 2025, and some 100 million by 2040. Then there’s the technology: its 400 self-service check-in kiosks (handling 80 percent of all check-ins), biometric scanners, and smart security checks are all designed to help shorten queuing times and enhance security.
The facilities, too, have been given serious thought—from outdoor spaces to plenty of food and drink options, it’s obvious Daxing wants to be an airport you actually want to hang out at and is taking tips from the likes of Changi in Singapore and Hong Kong International Airport.
In the month that it’s been open to the public, only low-cost domestic carrier China United Airlines was allowed to fly in and out as a test run. But as of October 27, a number of international airlines, like British Airways, Malaysia Airlines, and Finnair, are beginning to take off.
Here’s a first look at the Chinese capital’s futuristic terminal.
How it's built
Spanning four levels and designed by the late British architect Zaha Hadid, Daxing’s glimmering structure resembles a giant starfish from above, with six curved spokes spreading out from a central hub. Inside the core, an expansive, rolling atrium is supported by eight giant C-shaped pillars, each with a 350-foot wide skylight at the top—meaning there’s natural light everywhere.
The domestic and international terminals are stacked on top of each other, so the gigantic airport fits under one roof and all of its amenities are accessible to travelers, no matter how far they're flying. It’s massive, but the innovative starfish design means you never have to walk more than 10 minutes (1,970 feet, to be exact) from the core to the furthest gate in each wing.
Besides the hyper-modern interiors, the departure lounges also feature five traditional Chinese courtyards, which were not yet open at the time of our visit but will offer outdoor spaces on a sunny day (not so much in winter, when temps in Beijing can hit freezing, or when pollution readings shoot up to hazardous, very smoggy levels). Designed in consultation with Xu Bing, one of China’s most prominent contemporary artists, the courtyards are modeled after a classic Chinese garden, with landscaping featuring ample wooden benches, pavilions, and winding pathways lined with greenery and rocks.
What to do
Daxing is betting big on art. It tasked Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) with designing art spaces throughout the terminal, from the VIP lounges to the courtyards and wings. (Details on the art additions will likely be firmed up in the next few weeks.) Interactive, movable seating—think sinuous design chairs, adaptive benches, and pebble-like stools—is also spread around the airport, while corridors are dotted with interactive LED art screens that come to life as you walk by.
Aside from the art and a plethora of retail options, both from international and Chinese brands, there isn’t much else for now in terms of entertainment. When we passed through, the only way to access Wi-Fi was to have a Chinese number to receive a code, but 5G base stations should be installed in the near future, and with them the option to get online for free without a local SIM card. (A reminder to download a VPN before your trip if you want to entertain yourself: Google, Instagram, Facebook, Netflix, and Twitter, among other sites, are blocked in China.)
Where to eat
With 70 food and beverage outlets, you won’t go hungry in Daxing. Look for hot bowls of ramen at Japanese chain Ajisen Ramen, old-school Chinese cuisine at pre-check-in Laoshe Teahouse, mock meat at plant-based Vege Tiger, and filling dumplings at both low-key Family Dumpling and swankier Cristal Jade. The Dining Room, a minimalist eatery found both before and after security check, serves traditional Shanghai-style dim sum along with some tried-and-true classics like dan dan noodles and pork cutlets.
Travelers looking for Western options have American-style (but Beijing-based) diner Blue Frog for wraps and burgers, Shanghainese healthy concept Element Fresh for salads and wholesome sandwiches, and Godiva for cocoa-laden treats.
A Starbucks Reserve is the place to fuel up on coffee and make use of that 5G once it launches. Not into coffee? Chinese millennials’ favorite tea shop chain, Hey Tea, has a hip-looking store in Daxing. And if you’re looking for something stronger, know that while food is plentiful, bars here are mostly relegated to premium lounges.
How to get in (and out)
Daxing’s location is perhaps its biggest downside. Besides the in-terminal hotel Aerotel, which offers round-the-clock check-in and hourly room rates about a 10-minute walk from the international check-in desk, the closest accommodation is the Four Points by Sheraton Langfang, six miles away. As for the airport itself, it’s located at the south of the capital, 28.5 miles from Tiananmen Square and downtown Beijing. If there's light traffic, it’ll take you around 1.5 hours to get between the airport and the city by taxi, which will cost you about $30, or 220 yuan. On a bad, gridlocked day, expect at least a two-hour ride.
Public transport, for now, isn’t that much better. The all-new high-speed Daxing Express ($5, 35 yuan) gets you to Caoqiao Station in 19 minutes, but that’s nowhere near central Beijing. You’ll have to switch to the subway—line 10—and start navigating the sprawling metro system to arrive at your final destination.
The Beijing-Xiong’an Intercity Railway Line is your other option. It takes you from Daxing to Beijing West Railway Station in 30 minutes ($4.20, 30 yuan), and then it’s either taxi or metro—line 7, 8, and 9—to your hotel.
More improvements are on the way: plans are in place to expand the airport express north to Lize Business District station, where in-town check-in will be available. Construction for the Beijing-Xiong’an Intercity Railway Line is ongoing, and you’ll eventually be able to get from Beijing West Railway Station to central Beijing in 11 minutes by train. The Intercity Railway Connector, which will directly link Daxing with Beijing Capital Airport, should be ready at end of 2022. For now, pad out your transportation time to be sure you make your flight with time to explore the new mega-airport.
