Beijing opens its doors this week to its latest Olympics project — the biggest airport terminal in the world.

The city's Terminal 3 has been designed to instil the same awe in visitors as they enter the country that the Forbidden City of the emperors was intended to inspire in outsiders.

The building, designed by Lord Foster of Thames Bank, has a soaring golden roof that is scattered with raised triangles to resemble a dragon's scaly back — although there are fewer triangles than planned because of budget difficulties. The 2,600ft-wide (790m) roof and Canadian-built mass-transit system are testimony to the determination to have the most modern facilities in the world.

Dong Zhiyi, the deputy general manager of the Capital Airport Holding Company, described the airport as a “safe and efficient non-competition venue for the much-anticipated Beijing Olympic Games”. The iconic National Stadium — also known as the Bird's Nest — and the aquatic centre by its side will open for the Games.

The first passengers will enter Terminal 3 on Friday. Determined to minimise problems, airport authorities have already held six dress rehearsals. During the latest, 8,000 volunteers and 7,000 pieces of luggage were processed — about the same number expected to pass through the terminal each day after the first six airlines, including British Airways, move in at the end of the week. The numbers will swell to about 100,000 a day from March 26 when the national flag carrier, Air China, and 20 other airlines — mostly international — will transfer across from the old terminal, which is itself less than a decade old and already unable to cope with soaring demand.

The project is not without its shortcomings. International passengers must board a train to get from the check-in counters to the flight gates, which will add about half an hour to journey times initially. A high-speed commuter train to the city will not begin trial runs until April 1.

The airport is confident that its luggage system is able to transport 20,000 pieces an hour and to run at 10 metres per second — twice as fast as at Heathrow. The terminal's three buildings contain 445 lifts and a car park for 7,000 vehicles. Its floor space is 17 per cent bigger than the whole of Heathrow — including Terminal 5. “We feel very proud of our nation,” Mr Dong said.

BEIJING AIRPORT IN NUMBERS

£1.8 billlion — cost of the new terminal

50,000 — number of workers on site at the height of the project

1.8 million — cubic metres of concrete were used on the construction

500,000 — tonnes of steel were also used

40 miles — of baggage carriers move luggage around the airport

90 million — number of passengers predicted to pass through the airport by 2012

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