Hong Kong's new airport at Chek Lap Kok, designed by British architect Sir Norman Foster (who also designed London Stansted Airport), took six years to build and cost USD$20 billion. Claimed by its builders to be the biggest civil engineering project in history, the terminal building is the largest covered space in the world.

Chek Lap Kok was originally a small mountainous island, which has been flattened and extended into the South China Sea to four times its original size. The suspension bridge carrying railway and highway links from Hong Kong island is the longest of its kind.

Chek Lap Kok is within five hours' flying time from half the world's population and is designed to accommodate 80 million passengers a year - more than London's Heathrow and New York's JFK combined.

The airport is 24 miles and a USD$40 cab fare away from Hong Kong's Central district. The airport's passenger terminal is nearly a mile long and boasts a shopping mall with 140 restaurants and retail shops, including Harrods and Gucci.