3

I'm flying on April 27th with Air China from Budapest to Tokyo, with a layover in Beijing Capital Airport (PEK).

Arrival in Beijing: 04:10 AM Departure to Tokyo: 12:45 PM

I have a Croatian passport, and I already checked with the Chinese Embassy — I don't need a visa to enter China.

My question is: → Do I realistically have enough time to leave the airport, visit Tiananmen Square, grab breakfast or an early lunch somewhere nearby, and make it back to the airport for my next flight?

I'd be relying on public transport (Airport Express + Subway), since I assume taxis are expensive.

Would love to hear from anyone who tried something similar — does it sound doable, or too risky? How long might immigration/security/customs take early morning in PEK?

Thanks a lot for any tips!

Cikson
  • 143
  • 6

1 Answers1

11

Assuming your flights are on time, it should be quite doable. Rough plan:

  • 1 hour to get through immigration
  • 1 hour to take the Capital Express to Dongzhimen and change to Line 2 to Qianmen stn on the south side of Tiananmen
  • 2 hours to explore and grab a meal
  • 2 hours to repeat the journey in reverse

That's 6 hours, so you've still got two hours of buffer. Taxis are cheap in Beijing, but traffic can be really bad, so the metro is the way to go.

Update: I just realized you land at 4:10 AM, and the first train won't run until 06:30, so you might want to take a taxi after all, or better yet, Didi, the local Uber. Set up WeChat with your credit/debit card in advance and then you can use the Didi mini app in English to book, pay and even chat with your driver.

Bonus unsolicited advice: if this is your only taste of Beijing, I'm not sure Tiananmen is the best place to go, it's monumental but IMHO rather grim and lifeless. The Forbidden City is right next to it, but 2 hours is nowhere near enough for that. If you do go, the hutongs south of Qianmen are worth exploring.

lambshaanxy
  • 99,971
  • 45
  • 616
  • 891