Italian tourist Barbara Salata said on her arrival in China yesterday that she has always dreamed of Beijing Capital Airport being connected to the city center by a subway.

This weekend, that dream might will become a reality, as not one, but three new underground lines - the express between Dongzhimen and the airport, the Olympic line and Line 10 - get ready to open.

Carrying backpacks and pulling suitcases, Salata landed in Beijing at 11 am with her boyfriend, Livio.

Well aware that underground trains are often the most convenient way to get downtown, just like in other big cities, like London, where Salata spent a year, she and her beau followed the newly erected signs to the airport express train.

But their hopes were soon dashed, when they found the station was closed.

However, delight soon returned to their faces, when they were told they might be able to use the service within just a couple of days.

They said they could hardly wait to use the new line, when they return to the airport on Monday, to catch a flight to Xi'an.

"We are looking forward to being among the first people ever to take the new train," Salata said.

"And we are so proud," Livio said in a taxi the pair took instead of the subway, to downtown Beijing.

At noon, after dropping off their heavy luggage at their hotel, the couple set off again, this time for the Bird's Nest - the main stadium for next month's Olympic Games.

Not surprisingly, they chose to travel by underground train.

Starting from Guloudajie station and transferring at the Lama Temple, the journey to Huixinxijie Beikou, the nearest stop to the Bird's Nest, took the happy tourists less than half an hour.

But it was not all easy going.

During a 15-minute walk to the stadium in the scorching summer sun, Salata once again expressed her lament for the missing train service.

"It would be so much more convenient if there was a tube (the colloquial name for London's subway system) station right at the stadium," the 28-year-old said with an air of disappointment.

But Salata can sleep well knowing Beijing's new lines are almost ready to open.

At Huixinxijie Nankou station, signs for Line 10 have been installed, and ticket barriers wait patiently for passengers. Likewise, maps showing the routes of the three soon-to-open lines wait to be perused.

When it opens, Line 10 will link some of Beijing's hi-tech and business centers.

And that day can't come soon enough for 22-year-old computer salesman Zhang Xingxing, who works in Zhongguancun, the "Chinese Silicon Valley".

When China Daily spoke to him, the industrious PC vendor was on a double-decker bus with a computer monitor weighing down on his lap. He was en route to deliver it to a customer, almost 20 km away.

Zhang said he has to make similar journeys most days, but knows happiness is just around the corner, with the opening of Line 10.

"I swear I will never take the bus again," a resolute Zhang said.

"The subway may not be the perfect solution for people like me who have to carry heavy objects, but it's okay."

(China Daily July 18, 2008)