Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX)
Beijing Capital sits north-east of the centre and is the older, busier of the two. Daxing is far to the south, architecturally spectacular, and much further from the historic core than most maps make it look. They are not interchangeable, and transferring between them is a two-hour errand you do not want to discover on arrival day.
| Capital (PEK) | Daxing (PKX) | |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | North-east | South, near the Hebei border |
| Rail link | Airport Express to Dongzhimen, about 25 minutes | Daxing Airport Express to Caoqiao, about 20 minutes |
| Realistic door-to-door | 50–70 minutes to a central hotel | 70–95 minutes to a central hotel |
| Taxi to centre | Roughly ¥100–130, longer in traffic | Roughly ¥200–250 |
| Worth knowing | Terminal 3 is enormous; allow 20 extra minutes inside it | Express train tickets are cheaper booked at the machine than through resellers |
Getting through the airport
Immigration takes fingerprints at a self-service kiosk before you reach the desk; the queue for the kiosk is separate from and usually shorter than the one for the counter, and doing it out of order costs you the wait twice. If you are entering under a visa-free or transit scheme, have the onward ticket ready on screen — this is the document that is actually checked, not the hotel booking.
Arrivals halls at both airports have SIM card counters, but they are slower and pricier than sorting connectivity beforehand. If you only need maps and messaging, an eSIM bought before departure is the least painful option.
The metro
This is the part that genuinely is easy. The network is dense, signed in English, announced in English, and runs roughly 5:00 to 23:00 depending on the line. Fares are distance-based, starting at ¥3 for short hops and rarely exceeding ¥9 within the city.
You do not need a physical card. Both Alipay and WeChat generate a transit QR code that the gates read directly, and both work with a foreign card attached — see the payments page for the setup. If you would rather not rely on a phone, the ticket machines take cash and issue single-journey tokens; a Yikatong stored-value card is only worth it for longer stays.
Security screening at every station puts bags through a scanner. It adds a minute or two, so build a small buffer into interchange times rather than assuming the map's numbers.
Taxis and ride-hailing
Metered taxis are inexpensive by international standards and the drivers are honest about the meter, but very few speak English — have your destination written in Chinese characters, which the mapping apps will show you. Didi is integrated into both Alipay and WeChat, which spares you another app and another card registration, and it removes the language problem entirely.
Do not underestimate traffic. Between about 7:30 and 9:30 and again from 17:00 to 19:30, the metro will beat a car across the centre almost every time.
Day trips by train
High-speed rail is the sensible way to reach Tianjin, Datong or Pingyao, and tickets are tied to your passport number, so you collect or scan through with the passport itself rather than a printed ticket. Book a few days ahead for weekends. Stations are large and require the same security screening as airports; forty minutes before departure is comfortable, twenty is not.