| Tips for getting around Beijing posted by real travelers and Beijing locals. Beijing Map |
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 by mavl
the next day, i asked him to pick me up from my hotel and bring me to the airport. needed to pass by an atm on the way and when we got to one, he shut down the meter again. what's more, he turned off the engine, locked the car and got down to wait near the atm where i could see him - so as not to make me worry that he'll race off with all my luggage in his taxi. what a nice guy!
posted a photo of his business card. once again, tell him miko from the philippines referred you. please give him my regards!
his car# is B-JO446. his mobile # is listed below. Theme: Car/Motor HomePhone: mobile: 13910892203
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 Taxi I.D. Proper Cab Driver by aussiedoug
A few tips to help you.
Firstly, have the adress you want to get to written by your hotel staff in Chinese to show the taxi driver. This on the back of a hotel card with the Hotel's name in Chinese for your return trip.
Secondly, it will probably be a bit cheaper if you hail a cab from the street rather than get one from the batch of them waiting at your hotel. Vicky & I went by cab to le Petit Gourmand in Sanlitun then she packed me into a cab with Chinese instructions to the driver for my return journey & my return journey was 5 RMB cheaper. He hailed off the street while the first was from the hotel. Mind you I gave him a 5 RMB tip so it ended up- costing the same. lol!
Thirdly & I've been told by a few people over there (travellers) how important this one is otherwise you could pay considerably more than you should. Make sure you only get in a properly registered cab with the I.D. like the photo I've attached here. Enlarge this photo to see what I mean.
Getting back to the cost bit. That 5 RMB really didn't make much difference for just one trip, but if I'd been using taxis a lot during my week long stay then that saving on each trip would have made a difference.
I would suggest the Subway first if it gets you close enough to where you want to go. Howeve, I have no hesitation at all in recommending a taxi if the subway doesn't meed your needs. For the same 15 minute cab ride I took back to my hotel on the last morning I would have paid probably 5 or 6 times as much in Sydney & that is taking into account the exchange rate to Aussie dollars. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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 Advertisement in subway by aussiedoug
It's a bit limited at the moment given there are only 2 lines; Line 1 the east-west line; & Line 2 the circular line. The nearest station to the Beijing International Hotel, where I was staying was Jiangoumen which was handily located on both lines so I could use it to save time walking to Wangfujing shopping area (Line 1 east-west line)& I also used it to go to Dongzhimen where I met Vicky & Charles to go to dinner in Restaurant Street.
Now for the cheap bit. It's only 3 RMB - Yuan - Quai (local slang pronounced Kwai easy for us Aussies to remeber because of the Bridge over the River Kwai) no matter how many stations you pass through to get to your chosen destination.
If your Chinese is limited or, like mine, virtually non-existent have your money ready & hold up your fingers for the number of tickets you want. Don't worry if you don't have exact money holding up your fingers will indicate how many tickets you want. You don't buy return tickets soif you want a return journey just hold up 2 fingers to get your return ticket in advance. Or buy it at the station you are coming back from.
The other hint here is that you need to know which exit you need to come out of as I think Exit A will take you in one direction while Exit B will take you in a different one from the station. Again if you read this & I am wrong please drop me a line so I can not only correct this for others, but know for my own benefit on my next Beijing trip.
All announcements whilst on the train come first in Chinese & then in English so you won't have to be peering out the window trying to catch sight of your station name as you come into the platform. You will be ready to get off. Leave a Comment Theme: Subway/Metro
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 The Beijing subway is cheap
and rarely overcrowded by Confucius
With that in mind, here is a list of the top 5 subway stops with tourist attractions that are best reached by simply riding the subway:
1. Tiananmen Square (2 stops, west and east)
2. Yonghegong: Lama and Confucius Temples
3. Gulou: (Drum Tower) Hutong Tours
4. Junshibowuguan: (Military Museum)
5. Jianguomen: Ancient Observatory
WARNING: On October 1 you might be surprised to discover that the subway stations at Tiananmen Square and Qianmen are closed. Leave a Comment Theme: Subway/Metro
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Taxi is one of the most easily accessible public transport in Beijing. It is fairly cheap compare to any other metropolitans. All taxis in Beijing are charging based on the reading on the meter. When you begin a journey, the meter will automatically reads 10RMB which is approximately US$1.25. There are 3 types of taxi in Beijing with different ratings based on the size of the car. They are of 1.20, 1.60 and 2.00 per km ratings.Moving around is easy by hopping to any of the 25,000 red taxis on the road.
Always carry a card from the hotel in the event you get lost in the city. Shown the car to the driver and ask him to bring you there. Most of the drivers are not able to speak in English with exception of a few that was specially trained lately for the games. A hotel card in Chinese will be very helpful.
Taxi ride from the airport to central of the city using a standard Citroen taxi will range around RMB 80 to RMB 100. In the past, I have heard of many visitors were conned into paying as much as US$300 to get into the city from the airport. This should not happened any more as strict rules applied on drivers found cheating will be prosecuted with long term banned. As most taxi drivers have to queue in line for hours to get a passenger from the airport, a small tips of RMB10 or RMB20 will make the day of any of these drivers especially if your journey is a short one (around Lido Hotel area).
You can also chartered a taxi/private own car for day trips to the Great Wall (which is around 40 to 1.5 hour drive from city) or just to move you around various locations like Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Pan Jia Yuan, Wang Fu Jing, etc. As long as it is within the city, most drivers are more than willing to let you charter their car for the day.
A typical 2 litre care (Passat, Bora, Hong Qi) will cost around RMB450 to RMB600 for an 8-hour day rental with chauffer. Each car can seat 4 comfortably. If you are sharing among 4, that is less than US$15 for a day. Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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Getting around Beijing by taxi or bus is normally easy. However, when it rains, it becomes a totally different proposition. Take very serious notice of this if you have a plane or train to catch, expecially if you have an unchangeable ticket!
Firstly, taxis can be enormously difficult to find in the rain. People joke about this in many cities (especially New York) but in Beijing it can take several hours to reach places that normally take just 15 minutes.
Secondly, many taxis will simply refuse to take on longer journeys, especially to the airport (if you are starting a long way from the start of the Airport Expressway). They also will refuse to go anywhere if it involves driving on the 3rd Ring Road which completely clogs up in the rain.
If heavy rain is forecast, it is better to plan to get to the station or airport three hours before check-in time if your ticket is unchangeable.
If anyone considers this melodramatic, note that my 22 minute commute home (16km) extends to 90 minutes when it is raining, occasionally takes 2 1/2 hours and once took me 5 hours (in light snow).
Fortunately rain and snow are quite rare in Beijing (perhaps only 20 days a year). Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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 Subway station near Tiananmen
Square by filipdebont
With a good Beijing map it is not so difficult to find a subway station. But as the circle line goes around the city centre, you sometimes need to walk a few blocks before you reach the station.
The subway stations are marked with a blue sign (see picture) with a kind of special G on it. Leave a Comment Theme: Subway/Metro
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 Subway tickets by filipdebont
The price for a ticket was 3 Yuan. And of course you can change from the red line on to the blue line with the same ticket.
So that was not expensive at all. Leave a Comment Theme: Subway/Metro
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 wich way? left or right? by filipdebont
Of course there are a lot of Chinese, and they all need a job . . . .
Then you can go down the stairs towards the platform. And here you need to choose left or right. But luckily for us the destinations are also written in English, so it is not so difficult to find your way. Also there are maps in every station (if you do not have one of your own). Leave a Comment Theme: Subway/Metro
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 Beijing Subway by filipdebont
At certain times (rush hour) it can be very, very busy in the metro stations and trains. And at those times you really need to push yourself in and out the train. Do not be afraid to push as the Chinese also push. Like this I had some advantage in stepping in and out of the trains as I am a bit bigger and heavier then most Chinese.
So it happened at one station when I wanted to get out of the train, a few more Chinese also left the train (without wanting it) as I passed by . . . Leave a Comment Theme: Subway/Metro
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