The current Beijing South Railway Station  is a new and massive railway station on the south side of Beijing that opened on August 1, 2008. The new station replaced the old Beijing South Station,  reportedly the largest in Asia, joins the Beijing Railway Station and the Beijing West Railway Station as the third major passenger rail hub in the Chinese capital. It will serve as the terminus for high-speed trains to the city, including the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Rail, which can reach speeds above 350 km/h. The station is connected with the Subway Line 4 and will be connected with Line 14.

The enormous oval-shaped station was designed by the UK/Hong Kong architecture firm of Terry Farrell and Partners in collaboration with the Tianjin Design Institute。 It was built by 4,000 workers in less than three years. The glass ceiling is outfitted with 3,246 solar panels to generate electricity. The structure spreads out like a ray or trilobit and covers 320,000 square meters。 Its 24 platforms have the capacity to dispatch 30,000 passengers per hour or 241,920,000 a year. The 251,000 m2 waiting area can accommodate 10,000 passengers.

The trip to Tianjin from Beijin South Station takes 35 minutes, but the trip from Tianjin center to the Harbour to visit the Kiev aircraft takes 2 hours.

China purchased the Kiev aircraft carrier from Russia at the price of scrap iron.

passageway

piano in the waiting hall

Hexie (Harmony) train

Waiting Hall

Attendant serves drinks.

coffee bar

the plan of the South Railway Station

inside the carriage

Passengers feel comfortable waiting to go aboard.

night view of South Railway Station