World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Capital International Airport (PEK)
Tel: (10) 6456 4247 or 3220 or 4247 for flight information.
Website: www.bcia.com.cn/en/index.jsp

Beijing’s airport is located 28km (17 miles) northeast of the city centre. The new international terminal opened in September 1999 for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the PRC and now serves 98 international, 21 regional and 757 domestic routes linking Beijing with 54 cities in 39 countries. More than 40 foreign airlines have booking offices in Beijing. Currently being expanded to cope with Beijing’s projected exponential rise in business and leisure traffic, expected to peak at around 120 million by 2020. A second airport is also currently under consideration.

Major airlines: Air China (tel: (10) 6466 1697/8 or freephone in China only (800) 810 111 for tickets; website: www.airchina.com.cn) is the national airline. Domestic airlines include: China Eastern Airlines (tel: (10) 6468 1166; website: www.ce-air.com), China Southern Airlines (tel: (10) 6567 2203; website: www.cs-air.com), China Northwest Airlines (tel: (10) 6601 7755; website www.cnwa.com) and Shanghai Airlines (tel: (10) 6456 9019; website: www.shanghai-air.com). Other major carriers include: Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific, DragonAir, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, KLM, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Malaysian Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Qantas, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Thai International and United Airlines.

Approximate flight times to Beijing: From London is 9 hours 45 minutes; from New York is 14 hours 40 minutes; from Los Angeles is 12 hours 30 minutes; from Toronto is 16 hours 20 minutes and from Sydney is 13 hours 30 minutes.

Airport facilities: These include bureaux de change, ATM, hotel reservations and transfers, duty free and other shops, cafés, restaurants, left-luggage and tourist information.

Transport to the city: Metered taxis are available at the airport (journey time – 35-60 minutes, depending on traffic). The Airport-City Shuttle Bus (tel: (10) 6433 5835) departs every 30 minutes (0800-2230) from outside Arrivals Hall No. 11. Buses take five routes into the city – the most popular is to Xidan in central Beijing, a short walk from the Forbidden City. The other routes are to Beijing Railway Station, Gongzhufen in western Beijing, Zhongguancun hi-tech park in the city’s northwest district (journey time – 35-60 minutes, depending on traffic. Shuttle buses to the airport leave every 30 minutes (0530-1900) from the China Aviation Building, and every hour from both the China Art Gallery and Zhongguancun.