Beijing Airport Stopover

[maxtomas1]

I have a 7 hour stopover in Beijing on the journey from BKK back to the US later this year. I believe I can leave the airport without a Visa, get temporary stamp from Immigration if under 24 hours. My question is, how far is the airport from downtown, and is there a good transit system to get me there and back quickly? Worst fear is getting stuck in traffic and not back to the airport in time. If anyone has done this I'd like to hear details...

[SeaEmDee]

I have transferred in Bejing before but my stopover was only about 2 hours, not really enough time to think about going into the city. Moreover i would doubt that the temporary stamp you get would allow you to leave the airport.

 

If it is in fact possible to leave, the Airport is about 30km from the city center. There is an express train from the airport that takes you directly to the third ring road, from there you can take the regular subway/train system to get to the city center. I haven't done it personally but friends of mine have and they have told me this can be done quite easily. Be aware that the standard subway/train system is always crowded. From what I remember them telling me the journey from the airport to the city center takes approx 45 mins to an hour.

 

Having been in Bejing a few times (with a full visa) I would not risk taking a bus or taxi. Traffic can be really bad!

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

[Crash]

You are allowed to go into the city. Just make sure they know that is your intention. A transit visa issued at PEK is good for 24 hours as long as you have proof of your connecting flight.

 

Do not consider a taxi for the whole journey. The train is quite punctual but it will not take you all the way. There are reasonable maps and instructions in English in the station so it will be easy to get into town and back. Beijing taxi drivers are famous for not knowing where they are going but they all seem to know the station for the airport line.

[charlesyu]

I have transferred in Bejing before but my stopover was only about 2 hours, not really enough time to think about going into the city. Moreover i would doubt that the temporary stamp you get would allow you to leave the airport.

 

If it is in fact possible to leave, the Airport is about 30km from the city center. There is an express train from the airport that takes you directly to the third ring road, from there you can take the regular subway/train system to get to the city center. I haven't done it personally but friends of mine have and they have told me this can be done quite easily. Be aware that the standard subway/train system is always crowded. From what I remember them telling me the journey from the airport to the city center takes approx 45 mins to an hour.

 

Having been in Bejing a few times (with a full visa) I would not risk taking a bus or taxi. Traffic can be really bad!

 

Hope this helps.

 

The perfect answer. express train(25RMB=3.97us$)/subway(2RMB=0.32us$) system will be the quickest way due to the bad traffic.

[maxtomas1]

Thanks all, appreciate the info!

[Ksyvr]

And Beijing is notorious for traffic.....risky if you ask me!