• Subway

The Beijing Subway has a total of 23 operating lines, including 22 subway lines and 1 airport express. Line 1 and 2 are the oldest routes, as well as the main routes for the in-city traffic. It is very convenient to take the subway to many popular tourist attractions.

Operation time: Around 5:00-23:00. Each line varies slightly, so please refer to the on-site bulletin.

Ticket price: A one-way ticket for the Airport Express Line is RMB 25. For the other lines, the ticket varies according to the distance. For example, RMB 3 for destinations within 6 km (inclusive); RMB 4 for 6 to 12 km (inclusive); RMB 5 for 12 to 22 km (inclusive); RMB 6 for 22 to 32 km (inclusive); for distances over 32 km, RMB 1 is charged additionally for every 20 km. At present, the farthest distance between two stations in the subway line is 88 km, with its fare being RMB 9. Please swipe the one-way ticket or all-purpose card when entering or exiting the subway. One-way tickets can be purchased at the ticket booth and the automatic ticket vending machine.

Tel.: 010-68345678

The subway guide to popular tourist spots:

Line 1: Xidan Commercial Street, Tian’anmen Square, The Palace Museum, Wangfujing Commercial Street, Military Museum (Beijingxi Railway Station)

Line 2: Gulou Station, Yonghe Lama Temple, Sanlitun, Qianmen Dashilar, Beijingbei Railway Station

Line 4:  Old Summer Palace, Summer Palace, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Zhongguancun Commercial District, National Library of China, Zoo, Beijing South Railway Station

Line 5: Temple of Heaven, Yonghe Lama Temple

Line 6: Beihai, South Luogu Lane

Line 8: Water Cube, Bird's Nest (National Stadium), Olympic Green, China Science and Technology Museum, China Ethnic Cultural Park

Line 15: Olympic Forest Park

• Bus

Beijing boasts a well-developed public transportation system with complete bus routes reaching almost every community. The operation time for most routes is 5:00-23:00. In addition, 15 other shuttle buses continue to operate at night.

Ticket price: RMB 2 per person each time for in-city bus routes. Segmented pricing is adopted with a 50% discount by card. No discount by cash. You can enjoy a 50% discount on regular card when taking in-city buses by all-purpose card.

Tel.: 010-96166

• Bicycle

Dongcheng District and Chaoyang District have offered bike rental services. With an ID card or passport and an all-purpose card (with at least RMB 30), tourists can rent a bicycle with a deposit of RMB 400.

Rental cost:

The rental service is free of charge within an hour. For those exceeding 1 hour, RMB 1 is collected for every hour. But the highest toll for 24 hour is RMB 10. If someone fails to return the bike in 3 days, he / she will end up in the “black list”, which might jeopardize one’s future rental services to some extent.

For more information about Beijing Public Bike Rental Service, please visit its official website: http://www.bjysj.gov.cn/bjggzxc/Home_index_1_1.html

• Beijing Taxi

Taxis in Beijing are plentiful, affordable and well-managed thanks to the unified management. You can easily find taxis on the road.

Hyundai Elantra and Sonata are the main vehicle modes of taxi. Besides, few taxis are Jetta and Fukang cars. Taxis in Beijing are colorful, yellow body, dark blue, green or purple car roof. The logos of taxi companies are printed on the vehicle door and the top light box of the taxi. Different from taxis in other city, the taxis in Beijing don’t have a transparent shield around the driver's seat. A taximeter is placed over the console. Without all these things, the taxi is probably unlicensed and you should refuse it, even if the driver solicits you. The taxi drivers in Beijing are real warm-hearted although they are not good at English. Hence, it would be better to write down or print the destination in Chinese to show them.

Yikatong Card 

• User Guide:

(I). Public Bus

1. All the public buses in Beijing

2. Passengers with regular cards can get certain discounts when taking public buses.

3. For buses adopting a fixed pricing system, passengers only need to swipe their cards when boarding. The fare will be deducted automatically.

4. For buses adopting a distance-based pricing system, passengers should swipe their cards both when boarding and when disembarking. The first swipe marks the starting point and the fare will be deducted after the second swipe.

(II). Rail Transit

1. Passengers with regular cards should also abide by the fixed pricing system for rail transit lines in Beijing (inclusive of the express line linked to Beijing Capital International Airport) and pay the single-ticket price in accordance with relevant regulations.

2. Passengers should swipe their cards both when entering the station and when leaving the station. The first swipe marks the starting point and the fare will be deducted after the second swipe.

• How to apply for the regular card:

(I). Apply for and recharge the card at any location designated by Beijing Municipal Administration & Communication Card Co., Ltd.

(II). A deposit of 20 RMB is required for each card, and the card will be issued right after the payment is made.

How to apply for the short-term card:

(I). Apply for the card at any location designated by Beijing Municipal Administration & Communication Card Co., Ltd.

(II). A deposit of 20 RMB is required for each card, and the card will be issued right after the payment is made.

(III). Ticket price should be paid along with the deposit.

The types of short-term cards and their respective prices, available rides and validity:

How to recharge the regular card:

(I). Apply for and refill the card at any location designated by Beijing Municipal Administration & Communication Card Co., Ltd.

(II). A prepayment of 20 yuan or higher is required when one applies for a card. The card can be refilled in units of 10 yuan and the total balance in the card should not exceed 1,000 yuan.

(III). The car holder must repay the overdraft – if there is any – before refilling the card.

How to request a refund and return the regular card:

(I). Request a refund and return the card at any location designated by Beijing Municipal Administration & Communication Card Co., Ltd.

(II). The deposit will be refunded when the card is returned.

(III). If the card is damaged, the car holder should submit an application at a designated location. Seven days later, he or she can request a refund and return the card at the same location with the voucher granted when the card is issued. The refundable amount equals the balance in the card holder's account in the Yikatong system.

(IV). A cost of 20 yuan will be charged when the card is returned, if the card is damaged due to improper use or storage. The 20-yuan deposit will still be refunded.

(V). The car hold should settle uncompleted transactions – if there is any – before requesting a refund and returning the card.

(VI). The overdraft must be repaid; otherwise, the deposit cannot be refunded and the card cannot be returned.

(VII). If the balance in the card is 100 yuan or more, the car holder should provide invoices for refills with a value not lower than the balance to get a refund.

• Where to Return Yikatong in Beijing

Subway Stations:

Along Line 10: Ci Shou Si (慈寿寺)

FengTai Railway Station (丰台站)

Shao Yao Ju (芍药居)

Shi Li He (十里河)

Song Jia Zhuang (宋家庄)

Zhi Chun Lu(知春路)

Along Line 13: Dong Zhong Si (大钟寺)

Dong Zhi Men (东直门)

Along Line 14: Da Jing (大井)

Da Wa Yao(大瓦窑)

Dong Feng Bei Qiao (东风北桥)

Jing Tai (景泰)

Jiu Long Shan (九龙山)

Wang Jing Xi (望京)

Along Line 15: Li Hua Kan (梨花坎)

Liu Dao Kou (六道口)

Nan Fa Xin (南法信)

Wang Jing West (望京西)

Along Line 16: Yong Feng South (永丰南)

Along Line 1: Si Hui (四惠)

Wang Fu Jing (王府井)

Along Line 2: Beijing Railway Station (北京站)

Jian Guo Men (建国门)

Xi Zhi Men (西直门)

Along Line 4: Hai Dian Huang Zhuang (海淀黄庄)

Jiaomen West (角门西)

Ling Jing Hutong (灵境胡同)

Along Line 5: Dong Dan (东单)

Li Shui Qiao (立水桥)

Yong He Gong Lama Temple (雍和宫)

Along Line 6: Che Gong Zhuang West (车公庄西)

Dong Xia Yuan (东夏园)

Huang Qu (黄渠)

Ping An Li (平安里)

Shi Li Pu (十里堡)

Along Line 7: Guang An Men Nei (广安门内)

Jiao Hua Chang (焦化厂)

Along Line 8: Bei Tu Cheng (北土城)

Gu Lou Da Jie (鼓楼大街)

Huo Ying (霍营)

Along Line 9: Beijing West Railway Station (北京西站)

Qi Li Zhuang (七里庄)

Airport Express: Terminal 2, Terminal 3

• Q&A About Public Transit Prepaid Smart Card (Yikatong)

What kind of phones can use Yikatong service?

160 NFC (Near Field Communication)-compatible smartphones, including Xiaomi, Huawei and Samsung, support the new service, which is already operational in Beijing's bus system. iPhones users, however, will not be able to use the service until Apple Inc opens its NFC access to China's public transport sector.

How to access Yikatong?

There are two methods.

For NFC-compatible smartphones (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S8, Huawei P10, Xiaomi etc), install app “Beijing Yikatong” and the service is available.

For other smartphone users, replace the SIM card with a NFC-SIM card.

Any charge for Yikatong?

It is free of charge for smartphones with NFC-SIM card users and part of NFC-compatible smartphone users.

Users enjoy same discount as IC card users when taking bus and metro. Online recharging is available for Yikatong.

Is networking necessary when using Yikatong?

No.

The payment Yikatong on smartphone is offline, the same as IC card. However, network is necessary when recharging the card.