Beijing Daxing: China opens new 'starfish' airport billed as biggest terminal in the world

The huge airport that spans one million square metres cost £13.5bn and was constructed south of Beijing in just five years.

Shaped like a starfish - the new Daxing International Airport in China has opened billed as the biggest terminal in the world.

Opened by Chinese president Xi Jingpin, it spans one million square metres (11 million square feet) and serves as the second airport for the nation's capital.

Its first, Beijing Capital International, was running at maximum capacity by 2012, and is the second busiest airport in the world, after Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International.

Officials said another airport was needed and the huge structure took just five years to build at a cost of 120 billion yuan (£13.5bn) and has been designed to handle up to 72 million passengers a year.

The structure consists of six spokes coming out from the middle of the building, earning it the nickname "The Starfish".

Daxing will not only serve as an airport. Like many others around the world it will contain retail, dining and entertainment, as well as interactive pet hotels, childcare facilities and a showroom for companies.

The airport was designed by the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, who also designed the aquatics centre for the London Olympics and the Riverside Museum in Glasgow.