By Air

Located in the Shunyi District, Beijing International Airport is about 30 kilometres away from the downtown area. It is the first airport in China in possession of three terminals, three runaways, and two control towers functioning simultaneously. Its Terminal 3, by far, has been the largest one around the world. Of the three terminals, Terminal 1 is specialized for domestic flights of Hainan Airlines Group, including Hainan Airlines Corporation, Grand China Air Corporation Limited, Grand China Express, Beijing Capital Airlines, and Tianjin Airlines. Terminal 2 is for China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited, Xiamen Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines Corporation Limited, Chongqing Airlines Corporation Limited, international flights of Hainan Airlines Group, and foreign airlines of SkyTeam Alliance and other non-alliances. Terminal 3 is for Air China International, Shenzhen Airlines Corporation Limited, Shandong Airlines Corporation Limited, Shanghai Airlines Corporation Limited, Sichuan Airlines Corporation Limited, and foreign airlines of Star Alliance, One World and other non-alliances. so passengers should confirm which terminal before going aboard.

Landside shuttle buses

Landside shuttle buses are available to transfer passengers for free among T1, T2, and T3. They run every no more than 30 minutes from 23:00 to 06:00.

Shuttle bus within the city

Line 2 shuttle buses run every 20 minutes, Line 3, 4 every 15 minutes, others lines no more than 30 minutes. The bus will start off the moment it is full. The ticket price is 16 yuan.

Interprovincial buses

It takes you about 150 minutes to take a single trip from Beijing to Tianjin and it costs you 80 yuan per person, to Tanggu 180 minutes, 80 yuan, to Qinhuangdao 240 minutes, 130 yuan, to Langfang 120 minutes, 40 yuan, to Baoding 180 minutes, 85 yuan.

Airport express

There are four stops – Dongzhimen, Sanyuan Bridge, Terminal 3 and Terminal 2. The single-trip price is 25 yuan.

Taxi

The starting price of taxi is 10 yuan (including 3 kilometres), after 3 kilometres additional 2 yuan for 1 kilometre, after 15 kilometre additional 50% no-occupancy surcharges. Generally it cost you 80 or so to drive from the airport to the downtown area.

By Train

Beijing, as the hinge of national railways, has four railway stations, that is, Beijing West Railway Station, Beijing Railway Station, Beijing South Railway Station, and Beijing North Railway Station. Besides, Beijing East Railway Station and Fengtai Railway Station are mainly for freight transport.

Beijing Railway Station

Located on No. 13 Hutong Jia, Maojia Wan, Dongcheng District (东城区毛家湾胡同甲13号), the station is the top-class one around China. Trains here are running Beijing-Shanhaiguan Railway, Beijing-Qinhuangdao Railway, Beijing-Shanghai Railway, Beijing-Chengde Railway, Beijing-Tongpu Railway, and Beijing-Baotou Railway. Trains bound for Pyongyang, Ulan Bato, Moscow are also available. Travellers can take No. 9, 10, 20, 59, 122 buses, or Line 2, Beijing Metro to arrive at.

Beijing East Railway Station

Located on No.118 Lianhuachi East Road, Fengtai District (丰台区莲花池东路118号), this station is also a first-rate one. Trains are leaving for major cities in South China, Southwest China, and Northwest China. Travellers can take No. 21, 40, 50, 52, 695, 320, 373 buses to reach the station.

Beijing South Railway Station

Located on the street outside Yongdingmen, Dongcheng District (东城区永定门外大街), the station is not only the most modern railway station in Beijing, but also the starting stop of Beijing-Tianjin railway that is the first special line for passengers at the rate of 300 kilometres per hour. Trains here are most bound for Qingdao, Jinan, Tanggu and Tianjin. Every day, there are more than 30 trains running Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway.

Beijing North Railway Station

Located outside the Xizhimen (西直门外), the station was designed by a celebrated Chinese architect Zhan Tianyou in the year of 1906 and has already been listed as the culture relic of Beijing. Its main building is served as waiting rooms and staff offices. Seven trains here are generally bringing visitors to Badaling and Kangxi Grassland every day.

By Bus

There are 13 national roads connecting Beijing and other cities, such as Shenyang, Tianjin, Harbin, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Nanjing, Fuzhou, and Kunming. So far highways in Beijing are Beijing-Tibet Expressway, Beijing–Harbin Expressway, Beijing–Hong Kong–Macau Expressway, Beijing-Chengde Expressway, Beijing-Kaifeng Expressway, Beijing-Pinggu District Expressway, Beijing-Kunming Expressway, Beijing-Shanghai Expressway, Beijing-Tianjin Second Highway, Beijing-Baotou Expressway, Airport Expressway, and Airport Second Highway. Totally, thirteen coach stations are available in Beijing.

By Underground

There are Line 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 13, 15, airport express, Line Batong, Line Changping, Line Daxing, Line Yizhuang, and Line Fangshan. All single-trip price is 2 yuan except that of airport express 25yuan. It is extremely convenient to pay a visit to hot scenic spot such as Tian’anmen Square, the Imperial Palace, the Summer Palaca, Peking University, Tsinghua University.

Cruise

Three cruises are available in Beijing, and you can choose whatever you prefer.

Changhe section – from Beijing Exposition Centre to the Summer Palace. You can go aboard at 09:30, 10:30, 15:00 from Monday to Friday, or at 8:30, 9:30, 10:30, 13:00, 15:30 at the weekend. For ordinary boats, the single-trip price is 40 yuan, the return ticket 70 yuan; for luxurious boats, the single-trip price is 50 yuan, the return ticket 90 yuan.

Yulong Section – from Yuyuantan Park to Longtan Lake, it is the longest cruise of Beijing. You can spend two hours on the boat in appreciating the scenery along the way. Every day it sets off at 09:00. the single-trip price is 50 yuan, the return ticket 80 yuan.

Kunyu Section – from Bayi Lake to the Summer Palace, covering about ten kilometers. For ordinary boats, the single-trip price is 40 yuan, the return ticket 70 yuan; for luxurious boats, the single-trip price is 50 yuan, the return ticket 90 yuan.

City Transportation

Bus – public transportation system in Beijing is relatively complete. Bus routes are many, but the vehicle condition varies. As the bus is swarming with people during rush hours, visitors are suggested not taking a bus at that time. Bus ticket price is rather cheap. As long as you pay 20 yuan deposit, you will have a card with which you can save a lot of money when getting on a bus. For example, 0.4 yuan is enough to cover a distance within 10 kilometres. Up till now, there are three tourist bus centres in Beijing. Tian’anmen Square tourist bus centre, Tian’anmen Square tourist bus branch centre, Deshengmen tourist bus branch centre.

Taxi – in the daytime (05:00-22:59), the starting price is 10 yuan (including 3 kilometres), after 3 kilometres additional 2 yuan for one kilometer, after 15 kilometres additional 3 yuan for one kilometer. At night (23:00-04:59), the starting price is 11 yuan (including 3 kilometres).

Rickshaw – in many hot scenic spots and downtown area, rickshaws are in sight. When there is a traffic jam over the holiday, you can try the rickshaw to enjoy the street vista of Beijing.

Bicycle – it is an unforgettable experience for travellers to ride a bike in Beijing. You can rent it from many hotels by paying 20 yuan to 30 yuan deposit. Rambling around the city by bicycle will definitely leaves a deep impression on you!

Car - for those well-off travellers, an alternative to understand Beijing is to rent a car. As long as you have a driving license, ID card and credit card, you can rent a car. Prices hinge on the company, model and any other factors