Go to content 
Getting around Beijing | Subway, bus, taxi & bike guide
When we were organizing our trip to China on our own in 2024 One of the things that worried us was how difficult it would be to get around Beijing on public transportation., Shanghai and other big cities we visited. Furthermore, almost all the information we found was very outdated as it was from pre-covid trips.
The good news is that despite being a city with more than 22 million inhabitants Using public transport in Beijing is easy, cheap and comfortable.In this article we are going to tell you All you need to know to move like a fish in water through its 27 metro lines.
HOW TO PAY THE TICKETS METRO AND BUS IN BEIJING
To use the subway in Beijing you have two alternatives, acercarGo to a ticket counter and show the station you're going to on your phone, as the metro fare varies depending on the stop. Or use Alipay to generate a transport card; this is definitely the most practical and our favorite. To use Alipay, you need to have internet on your mobile.
You'll also see machines where it seems you can buy tickets on your own, but it asks you to verify your identity.car Your identity, a process that, after trying for quite a while, we couldn't figure out. Therefore, I recommend that you use Alipay to pay for subway and bus tickets in Beijing.
Generating this card is a simple process, we have an article on how to use Alipay where we tell you step by step how to do it. Once you have your transport card in QR format, you will only have to scan it at the entrance and exit of buses and subways.
SUBWAY PRICE BEIJING AND OTHER PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
As I said at the beginning, getting around Beijing is very cheap, except for the subway. arriving at Daxin airport which has a special price. Between the two of us we didn't spend more than €5 a day. To give you an idea:
- Bus ticket is 2cyn (0.30€)
- Metro ticket through the center 3-4cyn (0.40€-0.55€) transfers included
If you travel longer distances it's slightly more caror, for example, to go to the Great Wall of China from Beijing We took a bus to Huairou and paid 8cyn, despite being more than an hour from downtown.
Another Shared bicycles are a very economical and easy way to get around Beijing. The city is full of avenues with carThere are hundreds of bikes on every street that you can rent using Alipay for 1,5 cyn for 15 minutes.
As you can see, public transport and shared bicycles are super cheap in Beijing and in general in all Chinese cities.
HOW TO GETTING AROUND BEIJING BY METRO, BUS, BICYCLE OR TAXI
To know how to get around Beijing to get from point to point in the city, we recommend using Maps.me, Iphone Maps or Tecent Maps. It is also possible to use The Beijing Metro App available in the App Store and Play Store. Personally, the one that worked best for us was Maps, and we didn't need to descarWe downloaded the subway app because the information was already very clear.
Note that Google Maps is useless in China, does not have public transport information, there are places that are not in the correct location or even streets are missing.
Once you know which subway or bus you have to take, it is easy to find it, the numbers are as we know them and the stops are written in Chinese and English.
Public transportation hours in Beijing are from 5 in the morning to 11 at night. If you have to travel outside of those hours you will have to use a bicycle or taxi.
How to get around Beijing by subway
The Beijing subway is one of the largest in the world with 27 lines and 490 stations. But don't worry because It is quite intuitive and the frequency of the meters is very high, during rush hour It practically happens one after the other, and the maximum you will wait is about 4 minutes during off-peak hours.
To enter You'll have to go through a checkpoint where you put your backpack on a conveyor belt, scan the QR code generated with Alipay, and buscar your line (very recognizable by the number and color, there are usually even marks on the floor). Once on the subway, the line is written in Chinese and English. When you leave again, scan the QR.
If you have to transfer, it is done inside and is included in the same ticket.
How Beijing buses work
For us, the most comfortable thing in big cities is to get around by subway, but Beijing also has a large intercity bus network and on more than one occasion Mapas recommended that we use them.
At the stops you have the number of buses that pass with written stops, what is not there is the information about when the next one happens.
To use them you have to get on from the front, scan the QR on the bus transportation card and when you leave scan it again at the back door.
Shared bicycles, another option to get around Beijing
This was an alternative that we used a lot to get around Beijing. Again, it is done through Alipay in the Hello Ride option, in the guide on how to use Alipay we give you more details.
Basically, you look for a blue bicycle (easy task), you scan a QR they have and unlock it, When you arrive at your destination, you park it in one of the enabled areas (it is marked on the ground) and lock it again using your cell phone. Each trip used to cost us between 1.5 and 2.5 yuan.
How to order a taxi or Didi in Beijing
The fourth way to get around Beijing is by taxi or Didi, an option that, unlike in other major cities around the world, is not caror in China. You can hail a normal taxi on the street and pay you when you arrive at the destination or order a Didi from the Didi App or from Alipay (there is a Didi option inside).
When ordering a taxi through the Didi app, keep in mind that when the driver arrives, they will ask for the last digits of your mobile phone number to verify your information.car that you are the person who was supposed to pick it up.
And these are the four ways to get around Beijing, we hope it has been super useful for you to continue organizing your trip to China. To see our experience in the Asian Giant you can see the Instagram Featured Stories and read our Guides for traveling to China updated and our Guide Hong Kong in 1 day or 2.
Remember not to travel to a country as different as China without good travel insurance, here you have discounts for our trusted companies. Heymondo Discount, Iati Insurance Discount y 7% Chapka discount code.
Start preparing your trip to China
These are our favorite websites to do so. Plus, if you use our links you support all the content about China at no extra cost to you.
Hi Alba. I hope you are planning your next trip hehehe. I am considering going to China for the first time this year and I have some questions. Regarding paying for the subway with Alipay, could two people pay with the same phone? Normally either I or I install an eSim but not both, because we usually use only one phone. If I don’t want to put two cards with VPN, could I pay for two subway tickets from your Alipay App or would I have to have the App on my phone too and therefore buy two eSims with VPN? Thank you very much! I am basing my trip on your posts 🙂
Hi Tania, Alipay is used for personal transport, because it charges when you scan again according to the stops you have made. You can buy just one eSim and share internet with the other mobile phone every time you use transport. Another option is to buy a physical SIM, they are cheaper and it will work perfectly for Alipay.