Beijing Capital International Airport
People's Republic of China · Asia
About Beijing Capital International Airport
Beijing Capital International Airport (北京首都国际机场 Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng, PEK IATA) is the primary airport of the Chinese capital city of Beijing.
Beijing Capital International Airport travel guide
Understand
Beijing Capital is the world's second busiest airport by passenger numbers. The impressively huge, gleaming roof arching over Terminal 3, designed by noted British architect Sir Norman Foster, illustrates the expansion efforts made as part of preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This terminal is considered to be an architectural masterpiece, and is the sixth largest building (and second-largest airport terminal) in the world by area size. In comparison, the grey concrete architecture of Terminals 1 and 2 is somewhat underwhelming and seems to show China as it was before its rapid economic modernization and expansion: functional but not impressive at all. The airport is the main hub of Chinese flag carrier Air China, and a secondary hub for Hainan Airlines.
Getting around
Travel between Terminals 1 and 2 is via a long corridor with travelators. A fit person can make the route in about 10 minutes. A free shuttle bus runs between Terminal 2 and the new Terminal 3. It departs every ten minutes or so (every 15 minutes from 23:00 till 06:00), and the journey time is about 10 minutes.
Buy
Money: the trader is ICE. Their rates for major currencies are about 10% either side of bank rate, a decent rate for an airport. They also change Hong Kong dollars and other currencies that may otherwise be difficult to exchange within China. T2 Airside has a large shop directly after immigration (before Starbucks) selling 'traditional' Chinese souvenirs. The moon cakes and other bean paste pastries may make good gifts. To use vending machines it is a good idea to download the Alipay app and register it with a method of payment at home, since Google play store is not available in China. Unlike vending machines in other major international airports, they do not accept MC/Visa
Sleep
There are nearby accommodations in Beijing's Chaoyang District and Shunyi District. Note that the taxi drivers may not be very familiar with these areas so print out the name of the hotel in Chinese and a map if possible.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.