CRI听力：Terminal Three in Service Today

Anchor: The world's largest airport terminal has opened at Beijing Capital International Airport after almost four years of construction. It's expected to greatly boost the capacity of the airport, which will have a surge in passenger volume during the upcoming Olympic Games. Our correspondent Ouyang has the story.

Reporter:
Terminal 3, a massive glass and steel structure, is the brainchild of British architect Norman Foster. To showcase Chinese culture to new arrivals, Foster blended subtle eastern elements into the design. The end result is a building with a sleek, dragon-like contour highlighted by imperial red pillars and a muted gold roof.

The terminal covers almost one million square meters, an area larger than 100 football fields. With 66 runways and 150 docks for planes as large as the Airbus A380, Terminal 3 is the largest terminal in the world.

Zhu Jingyuan is a Beijing Capital Airport Holding Limited official.

"Terminal 3 should be seen as part of the overall expansion project of Beijing Capital International Airport. With this terminal and the new third runway, Capital Airport is now the largest in Asia with an annual capacity of 80 million passengers."

26 airlines will move into Terminal 3 in two waves. Six airlines, including domestic carriers Shandong and Sichuan Airlines, moved in today, and are now in working order.

Mr. Liu is an operational officer for Shandong Airlines.

"A Shandong Airlines flight landed on the easternmost runway today, the newest one. The captain indicated that everything went very well and boldly labeled signs guided the craft smoothly to its parking spot in Terminal 3."

New features in this building include a state-of-the-art baggage handling system, an interior unmanned train, the Auto People Mover System, that will move passengers from one terminal to another, and a light rail commuter train that will directly connect all three terminals to downtown Beijing starting in June.

The terminal uses white ceiling ridges running from north to south to direct passengers. The 292 check-in counters and 1600 digital information screens will simplify pre-departure procedures and cut back on wait times. Domestic and international flights are divided into two different sections.

The passengers are obviously excited by the environment of the terminal.

"Terminal 3 is cool, with a high ceiling that doesn't feel suffocating. Comparatively, Terminal 2 is too crowded and not airy enough."

"You will have a wide field of sight upon stepping into Terminal 3, and it is spectacular and stylish."

"In my opinion, the best airport in the world is Hong Kong Airport. This looks a little bit like Hong Kong Airport. The layout and the architecture are very nice. I like it."

Big is not an inspiring term today, but green certainly is. Terminal 3 uses solar energy to provide some of its lighting and has worked to reduce noise in areas surrounding the airport.