Since I arrived much too late on my first night in Beijing I went back to the airport the other day to find out first hand what the best options for getting to your hotel are.
The first thing I noticed though, both when I first got to Beijing and when I went back to the airport, was that Olympics have definitely made their way to the airport, too. There are posters advertising for the Olympics long before you get to the baggage claim. There’s a countdown clock in front of the airport, and another one on the second floor departure deck. And if you need to buy a cell phone number, you can do so from one of the little China mobile sales booths decorated with posters of the Olympics mascots. Numbers, by the way, should be between 50 and 100 Yuan. Prices of numbers can vary as there are lucky and unlucky numbers. 8 is a lucky number, rhyming with the Chinese word for “making money”. If you want to save some money, look for numbers with lots of 4s, 4 sounding like “death”.
Once you arrive, you will probably have to exchange or withdraw some money first. You can do this at the bank counter in the airport. In case the banks are already closed, there’s also a money exchange machine and someone to assist you.
If you stay at one of the bigger hotels, there might be an airport shuttle to the hotel; you have to check this before you get to Beijing or enquire upon arrival at the “Hotel and Tour Information” desk.
The people there can help you out in case you’ve got other problems or questions as well. I cannot recommend booking a hotel there late at night, but when I gave them the name of my hotel and asked them how to get there, they were really helpful. I wanted to go to the “Beijing City Central International Youth Hostel”. They told me a taxi would be around 120 Yuan, which I know from previous experience is about right. When I asked about a bus, they directed me to bus number 3, going to Beijing Railway Station. I tried to convince them to write me a “Dear driver, please tell me to get off at…”-note, but since Beijing Railway Station was the last station anyway, they did not consider this necessary. I had no problem finding the bus station, although, reminding myself that I could not read Chinese, I had to look twice before I found the right bus. As opposed to the terminal stop, which is written in Chinese characters on a sign right above where the bus stops, the number of the bus is hidden on the other side of the sign. We were stuck in traffic for a while, but apart from that everything went fine.
Although taking a taxi is probably the more convenient way to get to your hotel, if you do want to take one of the buses, you can ask the people at the Hotel and Tour Information desk which bus you need to take, and at which station to get off. I can recommend taking the bus if you know you have to get off at the last station, otherwise, it might be difficult to recognize your station when the driver announces it. Buses run to and from Xidan, Beijing Railway Station, the Friendship Hotel, and Zhongguancun, among others. (I have a list of all the stations here in case anybody is interested.) Bus rides are 16 Yuan. You buy the tickets directly at the station right outside the exit. Stations are written in both Chinese and English. Take exit number 11 or 13.
If you prefer to take a taxi, take exit number 5 or 7. The taxi stand is right in front of the airport; you can see the queue from the exit. Taking a taxi from the airport is no problem and much more convenient than taking a bus if you don’t speak Chinese. Nonetheless, it’s best to have the address of your hotel written down in Chinese characters (you can ask the people at the Hotel and Tour information desk to help you out with this). It’s also helpful to have the phone number of your hotel, so the taxi driver can call the hotel in case he does not find the place right away.
The taxi should cost around between 100 and 150 Yuan during the daytime if you are going to the center. There’s a surcharge at night for all cabs in Beijing. Do NOT accept rides from anyone who approaches you inside or right outside the airport.
