Hong Kong airport is the model of a transition from the Modern Airport to the Post-Modern Airport. The modern airport, see Denver International, is airport as shopping mall; the post-modern airport is airport as air-strip. Hong Kong is definitely a serious shopping destination - rumors on 60% off Ferragamo ties may be true - but the airport also allows full check-in at various locations throughout the city and a high-speed train to the airport itself.

In the future, check-in should only be done in-city, with all the shopping done there. Trains will take passengers quickly to a spartan departure area and runway, wherever that might be.