Transport in Beijing

The 2nd Ring Road at Chaoyangmen

The city is served by five completed ring roads. From the centre of the city outward, they are:

• 2nd Ring Road
• 3rd Ring Road
• 4th Ring Road
• 5th Ring Road
• 6th Ring Road

The "1st Ring" of Beijing refers to the historic tram route (now demolished) through Xidan, Ping'anli, Di'anmen, Beixinqiao, Dongdan and Tiananmen. No ring roads are built on this route but it is still called "1st Ring". From that on, ring road built on Beijing's historic city limit is called 2nd Ring.

The Jingtong Expressway

Main topic: Expressways of Beijing

Nine toll expressways link Beijing to its suburbs, outlying regions, and other cities; these are:

• Jingzang Expressway (Madian Bridge to Badaling and Yanqing county)
• Jingcheng Expressway (Connects Beijing to Chengde in Hebei province)
• Airport Expressway (Sanyuanqiao to Beijing Capital International Airport)
• Jingtong Expressway (Dawang Bridge – Tongzhou District])
• Jingha Expressway (Beiguan Roundabout – Yanjiao in Hebei province)
• Jingshen Expressway (Sifang Bridge – Shenyang)
• Jinghu Expressway (Runs from Beijing to Shanghai)
• Jingkai Expressway (Yuquanying–Yufa)
• Jingshi Expressway (Liuliqiao–Shijiazhuang)[2]

Map of central Beijing (1988)

Eleven China National Highway routes depart from Beijing in virtually all compass directions:

• China National Highway 101 (Dongzhimen–Chengde–Shenyang)
• China National Highway 102 (Chaoyangmen–Harbin)
• China National Highway 103 (Fenzhongsi–Tianjin–Tanggu)
• China National Highway 104 (Yongdingmen–Fuzhou)
• China National Highway 105 (Yongdingmen–Zhuhai–Macau)
• China National Highway 106 (Yuquanying–Guangzhou)
• China National Highway 107 (Guang'anmen–Shenzhen)
• China National Highway 108 (Fuxingmen–Kunming)
• China National Highway 109 (Fuchengmen–Lhasa)
• China National Highway 110 (Deshengmen–Yinchuan)
• China National Highway 111 (Dongzhimen–Heilongjiang province)

Beijing as of 2011 has an estimated 5 million registered cars on its roads, so traffic congestion is widespread. Traffic in the city centre is often gridlocked and is only predicted to get worse as the number of vehicles on Beijing's roads increase. It is predicted by 2016 Beijing will have over 6 million cars on its roads.[3] To combat congestion the local government has rapidly been building the subway system adding more lines and working towards doubling the length of the subway system by 2015. In addition to this they have decreased the cost of fares in an attempt to encourage more people to use public transport. In 2008 Beijing introduced restrictions on the number of cars on its roads in attempt to reduce congestion and pollution during the Olympic games period. They did this by adopting odd-even traffic restriction on alternative days. Cars with number plates ending with odd numbers were restricted one day and the next day cars with number plates ending with even numbers were restricted. Drivers who were unable to use their cars did not have to pay road or vehicle taxes, costing the city around 1.3 billion yuan.[4]

The Beijing Subway now has 23 lines, 678.2 km (421.4 mi) of lines and 394 stations in operation. Subway travel is generally fast, clean, economical and during peak periods congested. Currently about 12 million journeys are made on the subway everyday. By 2020, the city predicts daily ridership will increase to over 18.5 million journeys a day.[6] A ¥3 minimum fare that rises according to the distance travelled applies to all lines, except the Capital Airport Express (¥25) and the Daxing Airport Express (¥10 - ¥35). The electronic commuter fare card, Yikatong is accepted on all lines.

The Beijing Suburban Railway, a suburban commuter train service, is managed separately from the Beijing Subway. The two systems, although complementary, are not related to each other operationally. Beijing Suburban Railway is run as part of the Beijing Railway Bureau.

There are 3 suburban railway lines currently in operation: Line S2, Sub-Central line and Huairou–Miyun line.

The Beijing Public Transport Holdings, Ltd. ("BPT") is the main bus and trolleybus operator in the city. It is owned by the city and, as of 2009, operated nearly 28,000 buses (including trolleybuses) on 882 bus lines and delivered 5.03 billion rides in 2009.[7] in 2011, Beijing had more than 28,343 buses carrying over 13.39 million person/trips a day.[5] Over 1,100 Dual-mode trolleybuses operate on 29 routes and is gradually being expanded to combat urban air pollution.[8] BPT also currently operates 4 bus rapid transit lines.

Beijing Bus No. 1 on Chang'an Boulevard at Tiananmen Square.

A Beijing trolleybus.

Double-Decker Bus No. 特8 in Beijing

The BPT also offers three-day, seven-day, 14-day and month-long bus passes. Passes are not accepted on Yuntong Buses.

The BPT provides enquiry services via both its official website http://www.bjbus.com and a helpline: +86-10-96166.

Beijing has two of the world's largest airports. The Beijing Capital International Airport (IATA: PEK) located 32 kilometres (20 mi) northeast of the city center in Chaoyang District bordering Shunyi District, is the second busiest airport in the world after Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.[9] Capital Airport's Terminal 3, built during the expansion for the 2008 Olympics, is one of the largest in the world.[10] Capital Airport is the main hub for Air China and Hainan Airlines. The Airport Expressway and Second Airport Expressway, connects to Capital Airport from the northeast and east of the city center, respectively. Driving time from city center is about 40 minutes under normal traffic conditions. The Capital Airport Express line of Beijing Subway and the Capital Airport Bus serves the Capital Airport.

The Beijing Daxing International Airport (IATA: PKX) located 46 kilometres (29 mi) south of the city in Daxing District bordering the city of Langfang, Hebei Province, opened on September 25, 2019.[11][12][13] The Daxing Airport has one of the world's largest terminal buildings and is expected to be a major airport serving Beijing, Tianjin and northern Hebei Province. Daxing Airport is connected to the city via the Beijing–Xiong'an intercity railway, the Daxing Airport Express line of the Beijing Subway and two expressways.

With the opening of the Daxing Airport in September 2019, the Beijing Nanyuan Airport (IATA:NAY), located 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south of center in Fengtai District, has been closed to civilian airline service. Other airports in the city at Liangxiang, Xijiao, Shahe and Badaling are primarily for military use.

As of 1 January 2013, tourists from 45 countries are permitted a 72-hour visa-free stay in Beijing. The 45 countries include Singapore, Japan, the United States, Canada, all EU and EEA countries (except Norway and Liechtenstein), Switzerland, Brazil, Argentina and Australia. The programme benefits transit and business travellers[14] with the 72 hours calculated starting from the moment visitors receive their transit stay permits rather than the time of their plane's arrival. Foreign visitors are not permitted to leave Beijing for other Chinese cities during the 72 hours.[15]

Beijing railway station

Beijing West railway station

Beijing South railway station

Beijing has four main railway stations: Beijing railway station, Beijing North railway station, Beijing West railway station, Beijing South railway station. The latter two are among the biggest railway stations in the world. Other railway stations in urban Beijing include: Beijing East, Fengtai, Guang'anmen, Changping North railway station and Xinghuo. The Hepingli railway station is no longer in service.

Several more stations are under construction. Beijing Chaoyang railway station will be the terminus for high-speed trains from the northeast. Fengtai railway station will be a very large station in southwest Beijing with both high-speed and conventional services calling at it. Beijing Sub-Center railway station is situated in Tongzhou District and will be both a terminus and an intermediate station on multiple intercity lines.

Beijing is a major railway hub in China's railway network. The following eight major railways radiate out of Beijing:

• Jingguang Railway, to Guangzhou, Guangdong
• Jinghu Railway, to Shanghai
• Jingha Railway (includes Jingqin Railway), to Harbin, Heilongjiang
• Jingbao Railway, to Baotou, Inner Mongolia
• Jingtong Railway, to Tongliao, Inner Mongolia
• Jingyuan Railway, to Yuanping, Shanxi
• Jingcheng Railway, to Chengde, Hebei
• Jingjiu Railway, to Shenzhen, Guangdong and onwards to Kowloon, Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. To cross the boundary between mainland China and Hong Kong, passengers have to go through immigration and customs checks, like international trains.

The city also hosts a number of high speed railway lines:

• Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway, to Tianjin
• Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway, to Shanghai
• Jingguang High-speed Railway, to Shijiazhuang, Wuhan and Guangzhou, opening late 2012.

Further high speed connections being proposed include links to Shenyang, Tangshan, Zhangjiakou, Kowloon, Taipei, and Taiyuan.

There are a number of international trains departing from Beijing to neighbouring countries. The Trans-Siberian train to Ulaan Baatar (Mongolia) and then onto Moscow (Russia) departs from Beijing. There are also trains to Pyongyang (North Korea) and Hanoi (Vietnam) which depart from Beijing. The trains also stop at other cities and towns along the route. International trains currently depart from Beijing West Railway Station and Beijing Railway Station.[16] The following is a guide to the international services which depart Beijing.

• K3/4: Beijing to Moscow via Ulaan Baatar: Departs from Beijing Railway Station every Wednesday at 7:45 a.m.
• Z5/6: Beijing to Hanoi via Nanning: Departs from Beijing West Railway Station every Thursday and Friday at 4:08 p.m.
• K19/20: Beijing to Moscow: Departs from Beijing Railway Station every Saturday at 11:00 p.m.
• K23/24: Beijing to Ulaan Baatar: Departs from Beijing Railway Station every Saturday at 7:45 a.m.
• K27/28: Beijing to Pyongyang: Departs from Beijing Railway Station every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at 5:30 p.m.