Asia's largest underground train station began to operate on Wednesday in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, which neighbors Hong Kong.
The Futian Station is second only in size to the Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The underground station occupies 147,000 square meters, the equivalent to 21 football fields.
The three-story station is located in downtown Shenzhen and connects several subway lines. It is able to serve 3,000 passengers at the same time.
During the initial phase of operation, the station will mainly serve people travelling between Shenzhen and Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province.
The Futian Station is a major railway hub linking Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong in the Pearl Delta region. The mainland section between Guangzhou and Shenzhen has been completed.
When construction of the Hong Kong section is finished in 2018, passengers from Guangzhou and Shenzhen will be able to arrive in the Asian financial hub within 30 minutes and 15 minutes, respectively.
In the long run, this rail line is expected to be connected with the rest of China's high-speed rail network, shortening the travel time between Beijing and Hong Kong to 9 hours.