GETTING AROUND IN BEIJING

 

CHINA

 

 

 

By Air

In the capital city of China, there are various types of transportation in Beijing that a tourist can choose to get around in this huge city. One way of getting around in Beijing is by flight. Visitors can fly from Beijing to all main cities in the country (excluding Taiwan Province) and 54 cities of the 39 countries and regions in the world. More than 40 foreign airlines companies have set up offices in Beijing.

 

The Capital Airport is 28 km from the city. It is only 30 minutes drive from the city center to the airport along the expressway and it costs about 100 yuan by taxi.

 

The shuttle buses go from the Xidan CAAC Business Building to the airport once every 30 minutes. Monday - Sunday: 5.30am to 7.00pm and once every 1 hour from the National Museum of Fine Arts and Zhongguancun to the airport. The buses from the airport to the city proper run all day long until the last scheduled flight arrives costing 16 yuan per person.

 

Information Center at the Capital Airport: 010-64563604

 

By Rail

Beijing has four railways stations with the Beijing West Railway Station being the largest. Passengers can go from Beijing to the capital cities and main cities of all the provinces and autonomous regions by train excluding Tibet, Hainan and Taiwan. Now over 30 pairs of trains on the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway come in and out of the Beijing West Railway Station.

 

Both the Beijing Railway Station and the Beijing West Railway Station have ticket offices in the International Lounge to sell train ticket to foreigners, compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese, one week in advance and handles the affairs on returning train tickets.

 

Passengers may call to order train tickets five to ten days in advance from the Beijing Train Ticket Center. The telephone number is: 010-51827188

 

The hotline telephone number for ordering train tickets: 010-51822586

 

The consulting hotline: 010-51822585

 

By Urban Transport Facilities

Beijing has advanced transport facilities, with a large number of public buses and trolley buses, air-conditioned buses starting with the number '8', double-deck buses starting with the character 'te', special tourist buses with the character 'you', night buses, bicycles or tricycles for tour in lanes. Visitors will find it very convenient to travel in Beijing.

 

Subways

Beijing has four subway lines - Nos. 1,2, 13 and Batong Line. The interval between two subway trains is four minutes. Subway Line 1 starts from Sihui Station in the east and ends at Pingguoyuan Station in Shijingshan District in the west. Subway Line 2 is the loop line, which starts from Jianguomen and passes through the Beijing Railway Station, Chongwenmen, Qianmen and Fuxingmen. Subway ticket cost three to five yuan. The subway trains run between 5.00am to 11.00pm daily.

 

Taxis

A popular way of moving from one place of interest to another is by taxi. This transport is neither expensive nor troublesome. It is very convenient to travel in Beijing by taxi. There are three different types of fare rates for taxis, 1.2 yuan, 1.6 yuan and 2 yuan per km, with the starting distance of four km.

 

Public Buses and Trolley Buses

Nos. 1 - 200 buses and trolley buses run in the city centre, charging 1 yuan per person.

Nos. 201 - 212 buses run at night, with a unified price of 2 yuan per person.

Nos. 300 - 599 buses run to the suburbs of Beijing, and the prices are different according to the distance

 

With its broad avenues, unique side streets and the ever popular hutong, the best way to really appreciate this exclusive scenery in Beijing is for visitors to rent a bicycle to move around. Cycling is the most recommended mode of transportation to learn the traditional lifestyle of the Chinese since much of Beijing life is lived on these streets and using this type of transport in Beijing is both cheap and more environmental friendly since it causes less pollution.

 

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Last updated : 02 January, 2009