Beijing is a transportation hub and has a well laid out network of roads, railways and a major airport. Commuting in Beijing should be the least bothersome issue in a visitors mind. The city has convenient transportation links, extending in all directions. The well laid out rail and road network enables one to have a pleasant journey at Beijing.
When in Beijing, you have many different choices to get around.
BY BICYCLE
Riding a bike in Beijing is one of the best, most convenient and cheapest methods to get familiar with the city. Getting around by bicycle is an option. Most of the streets have bicycle lanes, and many of the major sights are within biking distance of each other. Renting a bike may be a better way for you to see this city at your own pace.
BY TRAIN
Beijing South Railway station
The primary means of long distance travel in China is the train. If you are going to Beijing from another Chinese city or leaving Beijing to go to another Chinese city, the train is your choice. There are a lot of trains entering and leaving Beijing all hours of the day. Passengers’ trains depart from Beijing West Railway Station, Beijing South Railway Station or Beijing Railway Station traveling in all directions.
BY RICKSHAW / PEDI-CAB
This is the Chinese version of the Tricycle, similar to the Tuk Tuks of Thailand and Tricycles/Padyak of the Philippines.It's a real novelty in Beijing and is used mostly for delivering small supplies to small shops around the city. Rickshaw/Pedi-cab is a good choice for sightseeing, especially for visiting Hutongs on your own. You will find it on the street. You should agree on a price with the driver before starting the journey.
BY BUS
Ordinary A/C bus
Electric Bus
Taking buses in Beijing is quite inexpensive but less comfortable than a taxi or the subway. The flat rate for an electric car and ordinary public car is 1CNY. You might think it is difficult to travel by local bus if you don’t understand chinese, well it is at first. Once you get the system it can be quite easy and the locals are very helpful. Write down some commonly used sentences in Chinese is quite helpful.
BY TAXI
Taking a taxi is the simplest way to get around the city and It’s very easy to hail a taxi anywhere in Beijing. Not all drivers speak English so better show them your destination on a map or have a note with the name written in Chinese.
BY SUBWAY
Beijing’s subway network extensively covers the city and surroundings. The subway runs every 4 or 5 minutes daily from 5:00 to 22 or 23:00. If you will need to travel around the city a lot, subway can be your preferred choice. The pricing is not based on distance, it is a fixed price of 2 Yuan. You may change some subway lines and travel from one corner of the city to the other corner and it will only cost you 2 Yuan. ??Beijing subway is very user friendly, you can find English signboards everywhere.
BY FOOT
Central Beijing is a flat city – no hills or mountains etc so I did a lot of walking around Beijing. It is a safe place to walk even at night. Just be careful not to walk in front of people on their bikes. But be warned things that look close on a map aren't necessarily as close as you think. The advantages of walking is that it is free, a good form of exercise, and it gets you exactly to where you want to be.
I think I will opt for a bicycle in exploring the city. It would be easier for me to see more sights intimately at my own phase.
Same here Claire. '?
Bicycle for me, too. But if I want to experience traveling with the locals, I’ll try the other forms as well.
Thanks for dropping by Nel. '? I agree with you. taking other forms gives you the opportunity to interact with the locals. I remember, On our way to Nanning the locals thought that I’m chinese too. All of us laughed when they noticed that I can’t understand them. '?
ay love ko na ang Beijing! my bike at train kase. btw, natawa ako sa 1st pic. hehe at ang cool ng trike, sosyalan ang dating!