Compare to the other cities in China that I’ve been to before, Beijing is quite easy to travel around in. The street signs are both in Chinese characters and Roman letters. And there’s quite a number of young locals who understands and speaks English.
Transportation is also cheap, 1 Yuan for a bus ride and 2 Yuan for a subway ride regardless of distance. I’m pretty much impressed on how cheap and easy it is to travel in Beijing.
Almost all tourist destinations are also reachable via subway and bus, with the exception of a few parks (and Great Wall) which is a bit far from the city center. The main railway stations are also accessible via bus or subway whichever you prefer. Even the airport is accessible via bus.
Here’s Seven Tips to Cheaply Navigate your Way around Beijing
1. If you’re travelling in Beijing without any Chinese companion, I suggest you avoid the taxi because they charge ridiculously. If you don’t have any other choice but to ride a taxi, make sure to agree with the price first before boarding, alternatively you can insist that they use the meter for fair pricing.
2. Plot your target destinations on the map and ask your hostel receptionist to write down the bus numbers that connects to your hostel. Bus (1 Yuan) is 50% cheaper than subway (2 Yuan).
3. Get a free map from the Tourist Information Center or buy a more detailed map in your hostel. This will make navigation in the city easier.
4. Get Chinese translation of the name of the places that you want to go. This is really helpful and I did this when I was still in Beijing. I asked our receptionists to translate the names to Chinese so I could show it to the locals in case I lose my way.
5. In case you lose your map or your notepad where the translations are, ask the young Beijingers. Based on my observation, the young ones are more comfortable in speaking in English than the old folks.
6. Avoid travelling during the rush hour (8AM-9AM and 5PM-7PM). There’s so much people commuting around this time.
7. Take care of your belongings when commuting. I did not lose anything when I was commuting in Beijing but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
I used to think that travelling in the big city is really expensive but as long as you stay away from the taxi and rickshaw, it won’t hurt your budget. Heck, I even think that it’s even cheaper than travelling within Manila. Enjoy your travels in Beijing.
Photo Credits: Pics by Frameless World
Those are some great tips. I hope one day I make it out there~
im sure you will bud…