Thanks moondog... I have the schedule showing outbound form Beijing to Dalian at 21:57... isnt' that 10PM?

Either way it makes sense not to take a train if I am already at the airport... just trying other ideas.

I was considering the train back to beijing since my plan is to stay in Beijing for 3 days so it won't have the "leaving airport" issue, but to combine this thread with your advice from my other about buying the PEK-DLC ticket once I land, is it wise to buy one way tickets instead of round trip to leave my options open?

Normally I have found rountrip costs about the same as one way, (ie $140 one way but $190 round trip) but it seems domestic flights in China, from what I can see, don't follow that rule so much...

If you think it's risky, then I will definitely say no, I am already getting butterflies with your buy the ticket on landing advice

Thanks again!