Aviation authorities in China have welcomed the opening of the new Daxing International airport in Beijing.

Conceived by late British architect, Zaha Hadid, the £50 billion project was officially opened in a ceremony attended by the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping.

The country is preparing to celebrate its National Day on October 1st, marking 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

The airport will be a centrepiece of the event.

The new mega-airport, the second in Beijing, was designed in the shape of a starfish with five connected concourses.

It is said to be the largest single-building airport terminal in the world.

At 700,000 square metres, with four runways, it is expected to be able to handle 72 million passengers a year by 2025.

China is expected to surpass the US to become the largest market for airport travel in the world by 2022.

British Airways and Finnair are among the European carriers expected to move their flights to the new facility.

Image: Ju Peng/Xinhua News Agency/PA Images