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On February 29 a Shandong Airlines flight touched at Beijing airport shortly before 9am local time. So what you might say. This flight is something special. It goes down in the history books as the first commercial service to land at Terminal Three at Beijing airport.

The new airport built to handle the peak Olympic traffic cost $2.7 billion to construct. And did I mention it is huge. The building runs for 3.25km and covers 98ha of floor space, the equivalent to about 170 soccer pitches. Terminal Three is the largest passenger terminal in the world.

I visited Beijing several years ago and at the time they had a nice new terminal. I expected that was the one for the Olympics. But no, the Chinese quickly built the monster that stands there now. In case the 170 soccer pitches size does not give you a feel for how big it is here is what the designer, British architect Norman Foster said.

“To get an idea of the scale, imagine (all five) Heathrow terminals under one roof and then add an extra 17 per cent of floor space,” Foster told the Chinese press this week.

On opening day there were Five airlines that began their operations, including British Airways and Qantas. By March 25 there should be a total of 24 airlines operating from the new terminal.

The new airport was built in four years with a reported 50 000 workers helping construct the airport. There was nothing standing in the way of the construction of terminal 3. 10 000 plus people from nearby villages were relocated to make way for the air terminal.

I am looking forward to jumping on the cheap flight to Beijing I was able to book last October to see the new Beijing airport when my family and I visit for the Beijing Olympics in August.

Beijing airport is expected to handle 60 million passengers this year. The airport has a capacity of 75 million. Queues which have become common place should be a thing of the past at this new airport terminal in Beijing.

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Tonight I was at a Chinese New Year celebration at the Chinese Embassy in Canberra, Australia. They had a raffle where the main prize was a pair of return business class tickets to Beijing from Sydney. Winning that was one way to get a cheap flight to Beijing.

The other way is to read my tips in the flight to Beijing article on the website. Having recently been watching Survivor China and visiting the embassy tonight my desire to visit China is really strong.

In the embassy itself there are many items that showcase China. They have some Terracotta Warriors, a room decorated as if it is out of the Forbidden City in Beijing. There is a bamboo garden and also in the main garden they have several pavilions built in the traditional Chinese style.

Going to the embassy was just like visiting China. Inside one of the halls of the embassy they had Chinese tea tasting. Outside on the main stage a fantastic show was put on to entertain the hundreds of guests. It started with some lion dancing, followed by dancers from Shaanxi which is home of the Terracotta Warriors. Later came some tai chi, followed by more dancing.

Also at the embassy there was a travel information stand operated by Helen Wong’s tours. I grabbed a couple of brochures about some of the places I am interested in visiting. Lucky for me I am off to Beijing for the Olympics in August.

When not attending the Olympics I would like to visit Shanghai and Guilin. Some of the photos I have seen of Guilin are truly spectacular.

If you have visited China I would love to hear about your favorite spots and not so favorite places.

Check back here in a few days and I will have some video from tonights performance.

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Travel.com.au are advertising cheap flights to China from Australia. Fly to Beijing/Shanghai plus 6 more cities in China with Japan Airlines from an amazing $899 + tax fr. $471. This HOT deal expires 30 Dec’07 so better be quick!

The airfare is great but don’t you hate it with you get hit for $471 in taxes. This can make what appears to be a cheap flight to Beijing a not so cheap flight. Departures for the above flight to Beijing are from 25/1/2008-31/3/2008.

Other destinations include Dalian, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Xiamen and
Xian. I highly recommend a visit to Qingdao and Xi’an having been there in the past. Qingdao is a nice coastal city with a European influence. Xi’an of course is home of the terracotta warriors. This is a must see if you make it to this ancient city. Home of the First Emperor.

Don’t forget the Olympics will be held in Beijing in August 2008. Prices are sure to skyrocket closer to this time. It is advisable to travel early in the new year if you have no interest in attending the Olympics.