Beijing’s new airport, when it’s completed in 2018, will be the largest in the world. But according to some Chinese online commentators, it looks like a vagina, and they haven’t stopped blushing since.
Yep, this is not a joke.
The design of the new Beijing Airport Terminal 1 has been called into serious question by a bunch of keyboard warriors online, leaving comments left, right and centre on how the design basically looks like a vagina.
KarryOn reported on this new design back in April 2015. But back then, no one really thought it was suggestive of female body parts.
However, the new uproar was actually sparked by this photograph of the design, which was posted online last week by a prominent Chinese author.
What do you think?
Well, the accusations would kind of make sense: the design was the creation of the Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid – a woman.
And if it is the case, then I think there is sufficient argument to re-assign Brazil’s Varginha Airport IATA code VAG (yep, this is true) to this new airport! (Check out some other hilarious airport codes in the BIZ).
But getting back to the matter at hand: was this purely an innocent design, chosen for its aesthetic appeal, or just another instance of art imitating life?
Hmm.
Let’s hear what some of the Chinese commenters think.
Bai Li Xiong, posting on their Weibo account (China’s equivalent of Twitter), had this to say on the design:
“Was it inspired by the form of the human body?”
Another user, known as Da Hai Lan, asked whether the design was intended to “seduce the People’s Daily building,” referring to how the structure resembled a penis when it was being built.
Don’t know what Da Hai Lan is referring to?
Check out this bad boy!
#lolz
But are online users just reading too much into this?
According to Han Yue Ba Ba, another user responding to the posted image, they sure are.
“Obscene people see obscene things.”
In any case, the new terminal will open in 2018 regardless of whether people think it looks like a part of the female anatomy, and when it does, an estimated 45 million passengers will pass through the 700,000 square metre building.
The six tier space will be focused on the user experience and will feature elements of Chinese culture.
