Beijing Transportation

Airports in Beijing
Beijing Capital International Airport
Located in Shunyi District, the Beijing Capital International Airport is about 30 kilometers away from the downtown area. Information from the official website of the Beijing Capital International Airport(BCIA) that its annual passenger throughput increased from 1.03 million in 1978 to over 100 million in 2018, making it the the second busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic.

In order to meet the growing demand of passengers, BCIA has undergone three phases of 8 large-scale expansions and reconstructions since 1965. In 1980, Terminal 1 was officially put into use. In 1999, Terminal 2 was fully put into operation. And in 2008, the large Terminal 3 was officially put into operation with the fast "Chinese speed" construction. Since then, BCIA has become the first and only airport in the Asia-Pacific region with three terminals, three runways and two control towers operating simultaneously.

As the core node of Europe, Asia, and North America, Beijing Capital International Airport has advantageous geographical location, simple and convenient transfer procedures, and highly effective collaboration mechanism, making it one of the most convenient aviation hubs to connect Asian, European and American aviation markets. As the increasingly improved international airline network comes into being, BCIA is becoming one of the busiest airports in the world, with nearly 1,700 flights from 94 airlines connecting Beijing with 244 cities in 54 countries around the world every day.

Transportation To & From Beijing Capital International Airport
There are mainly four means of transportation available to and from Beijing Capital International Airport. You are suggested to choose the most suitable transportation service.

Airport Shuttle can be divided into two kinds: one kind is “Local Airport Buses”, which is for passengers to travel between BCIA and the destinations in Beijing city such as Jinbao Street (Wangfujing), Beijing Station, Beijing South Railway Station, Beijing West Railway Station, Zhongguancun and Olympic Village (Shangdi); the other kind is “Airport Coaches”, which is for passengers to travel between BCIA and surrounding cities such as Tianjin, Qinhuangdao, Langfang, Baoding, Tangshan, and Zhangjiakou.

Airport Bus serves mainly for passengers at BCIA(employees) and Shunyi District, which is located in the northeast of Beijing.

Airport Express(subway) has 4 stops, that is Dongzhimen, Sanyuanqiao, Terminal 3 and Terminal 2.

Beijing Capital International Airport(BCIA) provides taxi stops at the airport, so passengers can also take taxi to or from the airport.

For detailed information about how to arrive at/depart from Beijing Capital Airport you can visit the website of the airport: http://en.bcia.com.cn/wljc.html

Beijing Daxing International Airport
Located at the junction of Beijing's Daxing District and Langfang, a city in Hebei Province, Beijing Daxing International Airport is the biggest airport in the world by 2019. Opened to flights on Sept. 25, the airport is expected to handle 45 million passengers annually by 2021 and 72 million by 2025.

Beijing Daxing International Airport is the second international airport of Beijing, along with Beijing Capital International Airport. With a 46km-distance from Tiananmen Square, a 67km-distance from Beijing Capital International Airport and a 26km-distance from Langfang downtown, the Daxing airport aims to become the main airport hub to serve the needs of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei areas.

The terminal building of Daxing airport is the impressive outcome of the collaboration between ADP Ingeniérie (ADPI) and the architecture team of Zaha Mohammad Hadid (ZHA) who was the first woman to win the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize. The whole aviation hub is shaped like a phoenix spreading its wings, which has been nicknamed “Starfish”. Considering the airport's large capacity in the future, this layout of the starfish-like facility will minimize the walking distance for passengers.

Transportation To & From Beijing Daxing International Airport
Multiple means of transportation are available to/from Beijing Daxing International Airport, very convenient. The Beijing section of Beijing-Xiong’an intercity railway connects Daxing airport to Beijing West Railway Station in half an hour at cost of 25-30 RMB. The Daxing Airport Subway Line initially operated three stations and passengers can take it to Caoqiao station, from where subway Line10 can be connected. It takes only 19 minutes from Daxing airport to Caoqiao by subway. Airport Shuttle and Airport Coaches are also available, the former can take you to the destinations in Beijing city such as Dongzhimen, Beijing Station, Beijing South Railway Station and Beijing West Railway Station; while the latter can take you to the surrounding cities such as Tianjin, Langfang and Tangshan. According to the government’s planning to strengthen traffic network in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Daxing airport transportation system surely will be more effective in future.

Railway stations in Beijing
Beijing, as the traffic hinge of national railways, has six railway stations, that is, Beijing Railway Station, Beijing South Railway Station(Beijingnan Railway Station), Beijing West Railway Station(Beijingxi Railway Station), Beijing North Railway Station(Beijingbei Railway Station), Beijing East Railway Station(Beijingdong Railway Station) and Beijingdaxing Railway Station, among these stations the former three are the main ones.

Beijing Railway Station
Located in Dongcheng District of capital city Beijing, the station is the top-class one around China. The predecessor of Beijing Railway Station was built in 1901, and its current name was decided in 1949. Beijing Railway Station is the meeting point of Beijing-Shanghai Railway, Beijing-Harbin Railway, Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, Beijing-Kowloon Railway and other passenger dedicated lines and intercity high-speed railways. Most trains heading to the northeast China depart from this station. Trains bound for Pyongyang, Ulan Bator, Moscow are also available. Travelers can take bus such as No. 9, 24, 52, 122, 126, 140, or metro Line 2 to arrive at.

Beijing South Railway Station
Located in Fengtai District of Beijing city, the station is not only one of the largest modern railway stations in Beijing, but also the starting stop of Beijing-Tianjin railway which is the first special line for passengers at the rate of 300 kilometers per hour. Most trains heading to Tianjin and the east China depart from this station. Passengers can take bus such as No. 20, 102, 106, 133, or metro Line 4 or 14 to get to Beijing South Railway Station.

Beijing West Railway Station
The station is also located in Fengtai District of Beijing. When it opened in 1996, it was one of the largest modern railway passenger stations in Asia. Beijing West Railway Station is an important part of Beijing railway hub, and its main lines include  Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, Beijing-Kowloon Railway and other Beijing suburban railway sub-central lines. Trains here are mainly bound for the west, south and central China. Buses such as No. 3, 9, 21, 40, 50, 65, 67, 89, and Beijing Metro Line 7 and Line 9 are available to the station.

Beijing subway
There are more than 20 subway lines in Beijing, including the Capital Airport Line and Daxing Airport Line. The subway network covers every corner of Beijing's urban and suburban areas, making it convenient to visit the popular destinations such as Tian’anmen Square, the Imperial Palace, the Summer Palace, Peking University and Tsinghua University.

More detailed information about Beijing subways you can visit https://www.bjsubway.com/en/