Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
STREET NAMES
Beijing street names
appear bewildering at first, as a road can have several names along
its length, but they are easy to figure out once you know the system. Some names vary
by the addition of the word for “inside” or “outside“ -
nèi
(
内
) or
wài
(
外
) respectively
- which indicates the street's position in relation to the former city walls. More common
are directional terms - north (
běi
,
北
), south (
nán
,
南
), west (
xī
,
西
), east (
dōng
,
东
) and
central (
zhōng
,
中
). Central streets often also contain the word
men
(
门
, gate), which in-
dicates that they once passed through a walled gate along their route.
Jiē
(
街
) and
lù
(
路
)
mean “street” and “road” respectively; the word
dà
(
大
), which sometimes precedes them,
simply means “big”. Thus Jianguomenwai Dajie literally refers to the outer section of Jian-
guomen Big Street. Some of these compound street names are just too much of a mouthful
and are usually shortened; Gongrentiyuchang Beilu, for example, is usually referred to as
Gongti Beilu.
Subway
Clean, efficient and very fast, the
subway
(daily 5.30am-11pm;
bjsubway.com
)
is prefer-
able to the bus, though be prepared for enforced intimacies during rush hour. Station en-
trances are marked by a logo of a rectangle inside a “G” shape. You're obliged to pass bags
through an airport-style scanner on entry, though this is not necessary for handbags and man-
bags if you give staff a quick flash of what's inside.
Tickets
cost
￥
2 per journey from station
ticket offices or when using a transport card. All stops are signed in
pinyin
(the anglicized
spelling out of Chinese characters) and announced in English and Chinese over the intercom
when the train pulls in.
