Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 11.30am and from 2pm to 4pm, but once you had a
card activated you could use the bikes any time.
You need to pay a ¥400 deposit to activate the card for bike use, and then ensure it has
at least ¥30 on it.
Bike-sharing kiosks are dotted around the city. Simply swipe your card at one of them
to get a bike; then swipe again when you put it back. Bike use is free for the first hour, so
if you use them cleverly, swapping bikes at another kiosk before you hour is up, it means
free bikes! After the first hour, it's ¥1 per hour to begin with, rising in price to ¥2, ¥3 or
¥4 per hour, depending on how long you keep the bike for.
Subway
6am-11pm)
is modern, easy to use and cheap. Get a
travel card
( jiāotōng yīkǎtōng; refundable depos-
it ¥20)
if you don't fancy queuing for tickets for each trip. The card won't make trips any
cheaper, but it will get you a 60% discount on all bus journeys within Běijīng.
To recognise a subway station (
dì tiě zhàn
) look for the subway symbol, which is a
blue English capital 'D' with a circle around it.
There's a pull-out subway map at the back of this topic.
Taxi
Taxis (
chūzūchē
) are everywhere, although finding one can be a problem during rush
hour and rainstorms, and between around 8pm and 10pm - prime time for people heading
home after eating out at a restaurant.
Flag fall is ¥10, and lasts for three kilometres. After that it's ¥2 per kilometre. Drivers
also add a small flat-rate fuel surcharge (usually ¥3). Rates increase slightly at night.
Drivers rarely speak any English so it's important to have the name and address of
where you want to go written down in Chinese characters. And always remember to keep
your hotel's business card on you so you can get home at the end of the night.
By law, taxi drivers must use the meter ( dǎbiǎo). If they refuse, get out and find anoth-
er cab. The exception is for long, out-of-town trips to, say, the Great Wall, where prices
are agreed (but not paid for!) beforehand.
