Taking a taxi is the preferred choice for newcomers getting around Beijing city, Taxis are convenient and fairly inexpensive from Western countries. There are over 70,000 taxis running in every corner of the city. In order to service the 2008 Olympic Games better, the 90,000 taxi drivers in Beijing are required to learn English, supposed to chat with foreigners freely although some of them can just understand simple English until now.

Fares
In the daytime, all the taxis starting fee is CNY10 for the first three kilometers, and it is CNY2 per kilometer for the remainder of the journey. If the journey is longer than 15 kilometers, the charge rises to CNY3 per kilometer. and From 23:00 to 05:00 the starting fee is CNY11 for the first three kilometers, and then CNY2.4 per kilometer, and CNY3.4 per kilometer for a journey over 15 kilometers. Waiting and stationary time is charged is equivalent to 1 kilometer for each 5 minutes.

Meters

When you get on the taxi, the taxi driver will switch the taxi meter on, if the driver forget to do it on, remind him by politely saying asking them to run the meter and gesturing at the meter box, It is recommended that tourists ask for a receipt when alighting from a taxi because the taxi details are listed in it. This is useful should you have any problems such as leaving property behind.

Beijing Taxi

Tips
Sometimes, the Communicating with the drivers can be a problem, as most do not speak English. You had better ask that your hotel write your destination on a card to give to the driver. Make sure also to take the hotel’s card that lists the hotel’s address in Chinese. In this case, you should look for the taxi stands or wait at the side streets. Additionally, if you know the way to your destination, please hail a tax on the correct sides of the road.

Vehicles

Vehicles used as taxis include the Hyundai Sonata and Elantra, Volkswagen Santana and Jetta (the old model, designed in the 1980s), and Citroens manufactured in China. These taxis are dark red, or yellow top with dark blue bottom, or painted with new colors. Luxurious black executive cars (usually Audis) can also be found, usually waiting outside hotels.

If you want to explore the true color of Beijing, travel about the city in bus. taste the real flavor of Beijing city by the locals public transport. however, It is difficult to use if you don’t understand Chinese. The bus staff speak little English, and only a few bus lines in the city center broadcast stop names in English. Bus stop signs are also entirely in Chinese. While traveling in Beijing China, keep a map of the bus routes as you step in Beijing buses.

Beijing Bus Routes

Bus transport in Beijing is cheap, convenient and covers the entire city, Beijing buses are numbered 1-999 and there are presently over 500 bus routes criss-crossing the city. It is estimated that the city operates over 20,000 buses!

Buses numbered 1 to 100 operate within the 3rd ring road. 200-212 offer only night time travel 300s travel through the suburbs 400s travel from downtown out to the suburbs 600s – 700s travel through residential areas 900s connect Beijing with its “rural” districts (Changping, Yanqing, Shunyi, Miyun, etc) that are not considered part of Beijing proper.

Beijing public transportation card
Most bus fares are relatively cheap! For passengers paying by cash: Lines 1-199 operate on a flat rate of ￥1 per journey. Lines 300-899 charge ￥1 for the first 12 km of each journey and ￥0.5 for each additional 5 km. Buses with air-condition (800-899) start at ￥2. The night buses (200-299) charge ￥2 per journey.

If you get a public transportation card from a metro station (a card that acts as a debit card for the metro and buses) you can get a 60% discount on all fares: Lines 1-499 operate on a flat rate of ￥0.40 per journey. Lines 500-899 get 60% off the cash price. There are also 3-day, 7-day and 15-day passes available for travelers. There is no return ticket or day ticket.

Beijing Bus System

Recent improvements to Beijing’s bus system include the installation of IC card readers on some routes, bus lanes and the introduction of many low-emission buses in time for the 2008 Olympic Games. Pinyin for all the bus stops along the bus’ route will also be displayed. Some buses are equipped with electronic display panels which announce the upcoming bus stop in pinyin.

Many buses now feature air-conditioning (heating in winter), TVs, a scrolling screen that displays stops in Chinese, and a broadcast system that announces stops. If you are having problems navigating the bus system, call the English-speaking operators at the Beijing Public Transportation Customer Helpline(96166).

Beijing Bus operating hours
Most buses with a line number under 200 run daily from 5:00 to 23:00. Buses with a line number greater than 300 run from 6AM till 10PM. All buses with a line number in the 200s are night buses. Many routes get very crowded during rush hours (6:30AM-9AM and 5PM-9PM). On all major holidays, there will be more frequent service on most city routes.

Beijing Long-distance Buses

There are many Long-distance or inter-city buses connect Beijing with other major parts of China such as Shanghai. and 12 national highways and 8 main expressways that link Beijing to other parts of the country. Some of the Long-distance bus stations in Beijing are Zhaosongkou Long-Distance Bus Station, Dongzhimen Long-Distance Bus Station, Liuliqiao Lon-Distance Bus Station and Muxiyuan Lon-Distance Bus Station.

The Beijing Subway is a rapid transit rail network with 8 lines, over 200 km of tracks and 123 stations currently in operation until Dec, 2008. Existing Subway plans on 7 new lines and 561 km of tracks in operation by 2015. the Beijing Subway will be the busiest and longest in mainland China.

When you travel in Beijing, it is worth to try the subway, especially at rush hour, it beats getting on the road and can be much faster than a taxi, The Beijing Subway System does connect some of the major tourist attractions such as Tiananmen Square/Forbidden City, the Olympic Garden, the Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Beijing airport, and Beijing railway station

Subway Fares:
A single-ride tickets is costs RMB 2.00, it is a flat fare with unlimited transfers applies to all lines except the Airport Express, which costs RMB 25.00 per ride. and you can also get a Yikatong, an integrated circuit card that need to pay RMB 20.00 deposit, refundable, plus whatever amount you want to put on the card, All subway lines now collect fares through automatic fare collection (AFC) machines that accept single-ride tickets and Yikatong.

Subway Lines:
The original lines are “Line 1″ which goes east-west line underneath Chang’an Avenue, which bisects the city through Tiananmen Square. It is connects major commercial centres, Xidan, Wangfujing, Dongdan and the Beijing CBD. “Line batong” extends Line 1 eastward from Sihui to suburban Tongzhou District. “Line 2″ which is a a rectangular loop line, traces the second ring road, and stops at 11 of the wall’s former gates, now busy intersections, as well as the Beijing Railway Station. The “Airport Line” connects the Beijing Capital International Airport, 27 km northeast of the city, with Line 10 at Sanyuanqiao and Lines 2 and 13 at Dongzhimen.

The “Line 13″ which across suburbs north of the city and channels commuters to Xizhimen and Dongzhimen, at the northwest and northeast corners of Line 2. the “Line 5″ which is a straight north-south line just east of the city centre. “Line 10″ which is passing just south of the Olympic Green. It turns straight south and follows the eastern 3rd Ring Road. and the Olympic Branch Line (“Line 8″) extends north off Line 10 with three stops in the Olympic Green. 　 Lines in Operation

Beijing Subway Map

View full map of Subway

Subway Safety – Passenger Searches :
To ensure public safety during the 2008 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, the subway initiated a three-month heightened security program from June 29 to September 20, 2008. During this period, riders were subject to searches of their persons and belongings at All stations by security inspectors using metal detectors, X-Ray machines and sniffer dogs. Items banned from public transportation such as “guns, ammunition, knives, explosives, flammable and radioactive materials, and toxic chemicals” were subject to confiscation. The security program have been reinstituted during other times of high ridership such as the 2009 New Year Holiday.

As the largest junction of major roads in China, Beijing operate thousands of long-distance buses with 12 national highways, all the buses has radiating to the northeast, southeast, southwest, and south, and 9 main expressways surrounding the city, totaling 20,000 kilometers. while get in and out beijing by bus journeys can bememorable experiences.

Beijing Long-distance buses contacts to neighboring cities such as Datong, Chengde, Tianjin, Xian Shanghai, Mongolian etc. Beijing has over 20 long distance bus stations, Zhaogongkou Long-Distance Bus Station is the largest one with good supporting facilities.

Zhaogongkou Long-Distance Bus Station in Beijing

Taking a long distance bus is a little more expensive than by train, but it is more convenient and less crowded. Most of the buses will be regular or express buses, which take the expressways, cost from ￥200-600 per trip, have comfy seats, and most rides don’t take more than 6-12 hours, but sleeper buses are also available. A sleeper bus, with bunk beds in rows, It about ￥100 per trip. Take the National Highways to save money, a bus ride can take up to 24 hours.

Beijing long-distance bus tickets can be purchased 3 to 5 days prior to your departure, upon your arrivalat the station, or even after you board the bus, if it is out of season. but what you need to do is go to the bus station located on the edge of the city in the direction you want to travel. the brief introduction of main 8 stations as following:

Beijing Capital International Airport is the main international airport that serves the capital city of Beijing, People’s Republic of China. It is located in Chaoyang District, about 20km to the north-east of the Beijing city-center.

Terminal Introduction
With 60,000 square meters of space, Terminal 1 was opened on January 1, 1980, With the opening of New Terminal 3, the terminal was closed for light refurbishment, It reopened on June 27, 2008, and became the operational base for all domestic flights operated by the HNA Group.

Terminal 2 was opened on November 1, 1999, a month after the 50th anniversary of the founding of China. Prior to the opening of Terminal 3, the majority of the flights from PEK operated from this terminal. and now It houses China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Skyteam, and other domestic and international flights.

New Terminal 3:
Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) had opened six months before the start of the 2008 Olympic Games. as the world’s largest airport building, Terminal 3 is a four – storey terminal (including basement level) covers an area of 336,000 square meters – three times the size of the former terminal – and puts much more emphasis on passenger comfort, it will be able to handle 190,000 flights, 35 million passengers, and 780,000 tons of cargo a year.

Airlines and Destinations
After slots were given to Federal Express, Continental Airlines began non-stop flights between Newark and Beijing on June 15, 2005. On September 25, 2007, American Airlines and US Airways were awarded non-stop flights to Beijing from Chicago-O’Hare and Philadelphia, respectively, with the American Airlines’ Chicago-O’Hare flight to begin on April 4, 2010, and the US Airways’ Philadelphia flight to begin sometime in the Spring of 2010. This became US Airways’ first destination in Asia. Both of these airlines will operate from the new Terminal 3 as they are part of Star Alliance (US Airways) and oneworld (American Airlines). Filghts search online

The airport has three terminals. Terminal 1 is currently housing Hainan Airlines and its subsidiaries (while the international routes; Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau flights operate from Terminal 2), Terminal 2 serves China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, SkyTeam members and other domestic and international flights. Terminal 3, the newest terminal at Beijing Airport, serves Air China, Star Alliance and Oneworld members, and some other domestic and international flights which do not operate from Terminals 1 and 2.

Transportation and Connections
To help passengers go to right terminal, the airport provides free Inter-terminal shuttlles between T3 and Terminals 1 and 2 from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The buses set out every ten minutes from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and every 20 minutes during other times.

Airport Expressway — In the early 1990s, a 20 km stretch of toll expressway connecting downtown Beijing from the Northeastern 3rd Ring Road at Sanyuanqiao directly to the airport . By 2008, four expressways will link to the airport, and now there have 6 Airport Shuttle bus to connected the mainly city raod in Beijing.

Airport Express — Beijing Capital Airport is served by the Airport Express Line of of the Beijing Subway. The Rail line runs from Terminal 3 and Terminal 2 stations to Dongzhimen, with a stop at Sanyuanqiao. It was opened on July 19, 2008, in time for the 2008 Olympics. Buses run from the airport to many parts of the Beijing City.

Airport Taxi — Available on the lower level just outside the Arrivals area. When arriving at the airport, There is a taxi line just outside the terminal. Drivers should use their meter; The cost to midtown Beijing is normally around RMB70 depending on the type of taxi, plus RMB15 for the highway toll.

Shopping and Dining
Beijing Capital Airport the Shopping Area and stores gathers Chinese traditional selection as well as branded commodities of Europe and America prevalent in the world. As an important part of the service of the airport, the market holds the idea—Here is China, and even the world.

In the modernized food corridor, you can enjoy the delicious Airport Food including Chinese food, Western food, Japanese food, Korean food as well local refreshments of varied area of China. And you can also sit down here and enjoy the relaxed time by drinking a cup of coffee with rich flavor.