Travel Tips for Getting Around Beijing by Subway
How to Use the Rapid Transit System in Beijing
Nov 13, 2009
The noise and confusion of an estimated five million riders per day is enough to overwhelm anyone trying to use the Beijing subway system for the first time. If that person is a tourist in Beijing who doesn't speak or read Chinese it is even more difficult. These travel tips and a little advance planning can make riding the rapid transit fun and fast.
Beijing Subway: Hours of Operation, Ticket Prices, Restroom Availability and Handicapped Access
Beijing's rapid transit system normally operates from 5:00 AM until midnight. However, during special events and holidays, the trains may run longer. Except for the Airport Express Line, tickets to any station on the system cost only two yuan.
Many of the subway stations have bathrooms but they can be difficult to find. Often they are under the stairs. Every station is equipped with elevators, ramps and lifts for handicap access and the newer cars have wheelchair spaces. Cellular phone service is available on all lines.
DIY Beijing Tour: Getting From Point A to Point B on the Subway
Subway trains usually run underground so the stations are downstairs. Many have escalators. To enter a subway station, look for a little building with the letter D encircled by the letter G. If expecting to return to the same location, make a note of which entrance is used. Many stations have two or even four choices - for example, Northwest, Southwest, Northeast and Southeast - and using the wrong one to exit may disorient someone unfamiliar with the area.
Subway Line Two, dark blue on the Beijing subway map, is nearly oval in shape. For the traveler’s convenience, trains travel both clockwise and counterclockwise, so even though both trains go to each stop, care should be taken to choose the direction which will result in the shortest trip. Including the Airport Express Line, most of the other lines intersect Line Two, and transfers can usually be made inside the subway station.The most common tourist destinations are located just off Subway Line One, red on the map.
It is possible to take the subway from the Beijing Train Station to the airport. From the Beijing West Train Station, the station that is the starting point for trains headed south or west, a short bus or taxi ride to a subway station is required.
Tickets can be purchased from one of the automated machines or at the window. Security checks are sometimes required, especially during holidays, so packages and bags including suitcases and purses will be x-ray screened. Insert the ticket in the slot of the machine to the left of a green arrow. Swipe prepaid "Yikatong" cards over a “hot” area near the front of the machine. Keep the ticket in a safe place because it must be used to exit the subway system.
Look at a subway map to get oriented. To determine which way to take the train, find the destination station on the list of stops.
Stay behind the yellow line prior to the arrival of the subway. Although it makes sense that passengers getting on the car will wait until passengers getting off are out of the way, reality doesn’t always use logic. Those waiting to get on want to get the seats so they usually try to push in against the throng getting off. Be prepared to move quickly because the stops are often quite short.
Approaching stations are announced in both Chinese and English and posted electronically in most subway cars.
Changing to a different line is usually easy, just follow the signs. Sometimes signs showing where to go for the other train are not where the trains stop, but near the exit area. Transferring from Line 2 to the Airport Express Line, the gray line, can be confusing while that station is under contstruction.
Navigating the Beijing subway system need not be overwhelming. It is logical, organized, clean and safe which simplifies a Beijing vacation or business trip.
See Tips for Traveling in Chinese Buses for more travel tips for China.
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