A bird's-eye view of Beijing Daxing International Airport. [Photo/VCG]

Construction of the Beijing Daxing International Airport finished on Sunday, five years after the project began in 2014, marking the start of the preparatory stage of the airport's operation.

The airport, located 46 km south of downtown Beijing, is designed to alleviate the pressure on Beijing Capital International Airport in the city's northeastern suburbs. It is expected to handle 45 million passengers annually by 2021 and 72 million by 2025.