This Day, That Year

Item from March 5, 1994, in China Daily: A reopening ceremony of the sole paint hangar in Asia for jumbo jets was held on Thursday in Beijing after two years of renovation. The glistening Boeing freighter with an Air China logo on its side received its last coat of spray paint, slowly pulled out of a spacious hangar, and flew off over the heads of domestic and foreign guests.

Beijing Capital International Airport now boasts a 64,000-square-meter hangar. The facility, seen on the above right, is considered the largest in Asia.

Built in 2008, it can hold four Airbus A380 planes, or two Airbus A380s and four Boeing-747s.