sl00001

It works - but just make sure to print out everything. however I saw a couple at PEK showing their schedule on an Ipad and got through.

sard

Saw this at the checkin counter last week.

Couple (american?) tried to checkin, and the agent asked for their passport.
They give him a "Red Card" ?
Agent said he needed the passport
They said they live in Beijing and they always use their Red Card to check in, instead of their passport.

I assume Red Card is some kind of ID for foreigners...?
And the hotel wouldnt accept it this time due to the heightened security recently....?

The couple was getting upset because their passports were at home, and they didn't want to waste all their time in a rush hour taxi again.

Steph3n

The Red Card is the Chinese foreign expert documentation and affiliation card. It notes the employer, the persons name, pic, their vital stats, and I don't think it is generally used like a passport, it hasn't worked so well for those I know with it for that purpose, it is however needed sometimes if you were to be interrogated by police, but that hasn't happened to people I know

It is essentially, the extended documentation of visa in the passport.

jiejie

I call BS on this couple. You haven't been able to legitimately use the Foreign Expert's Certificate (essentially, a Labor Permit for teachers and professors) as a passport substitute in years. Maybe pre-2005, when foreigners could use their "Green Books" (Residence Permits that used to be separately issued) in lieu of passport. Those days are long gone. I don't believe for a second their assertion that they "always use their Red Cards to check-in."

trueblu

If it's a foreign expert card (book), I'm pretty sure mine is green.

Apparently it could have been used as passport substitute previously, but not for many years, as jiejie says.

tb

GinFizz

Sounds dodgy to me as well. In the past I had to show both the residence permit (small green book) and my passport to check in to a hotel. To add to the color rainbow, I just checked and my current foreign expert document is dark blue....

Security last week was strict though. I had some guests here and when I checked them in to their hotel (in Wudaokou) the staff asked for permission to look inside their luggage. Never had that before.

happenstance3

First, thanks to everyone for all the transit info, and any help.

We're on CA 986 J arriving 6:05 PM in a few days, departing on CA 975 J at 11:30 PM to SIN.

I thought we'd spend part of the five hours stretching our limbs at the Hilton Capital Airport. The manager there quoted me 100 CNY for use of the gym and pool, which is only a little bit more than the gym at the Hilton O'Hare costs for Hilton non-elites.

Realistically, how much time will we have at the hotel, given the need to clear customs and get back into the secured gate area?

Apologies for perhaps asking in the wrong forum or asking a previously-answered question.

moondog

Between 3 and 4 hours.

Changing topics for a sec, why would you ever not tell the ORD Hilton guys that you are an HHonors member? ($5 is a lot less than y100, though I'm quite certain that the PEK Hilton gym blows the doors off of its counterpart at ORD.)

happenstance3

Thanks for the help.

Sorry, I was off. I called the ORD Hilton desk and got a quote of $19 gym pass for non-elites and $10 for every flavor of HHonors elite. That was in May, but my plans changed and I never ended up stopping by there. I mentioned that I was HH Gold to the PEK Hilton manager, but his reply didn't indicate that my price was an elite special.

The numbers here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...-hilton-2.html haven't been corrected.

moondog

Oh, okay. $5 always did seem crazy cheap to me. y100 is also a very good deal for a 5* hotel in China. Just to provide a frame of reference, I used to pay y150 to use the Portman gym in Shanghai in 1995. The current day rate for the same is now in excess of y400 (not that I would ever dream of paying that).

smikih

I am transiting through PEK twice in the next few weeks and looking for a place to stay for each of these overnight layovers, as I take advantage of the 24 hour Transit Without Visa.

My flights arrive into PEK at 8pm and 10:50pm and my departing flights leave the following days at about 10:00am. Since I will be doing two overnights, and I won't be able to do much touristy during the hours I am on the ground, I figure it makes more sense to stay close to the airport.

I have been looking at the airport hotels and see a wide range of options -- I notice there are several higher end possibilities (Hilton, Crown Plaza, Langham Place). But, I was leaning towards staying at one of the cheaper options (@$65) such as the Days Hotel Beijing New Exhibition Center, Airport YUANHANG International Hotel Beijing or the CITIC Hotel Beijing Airport (because it has a pool, which is good before/after long travel days), but they (and other even cheaper options eg. the ibis @ $30) all get very mixed reviews in terms of the hotel and more importantly, the shuttle service, especially for airport pickup (without a local phone/SIM card).

Would you recommend sucking it up and going for one of the nicer options, like the Crown Plaza, which is about twice the price of those cheaper options? Or are any of the more price competitive hotels fine for a quick layover? Or would you recommend I should plan on taking the train towards the city and staying at a hotel closer to the city (I have heard suggestion of Lido (or similar) areas). If the latter, what hotel(s) would you recommend?

Thanks so much!

(I realize this thread has been quiet for a couple of years, but I didn't want to create a new thread on an already existing topic.)

swordsman1989

Hello, I am working as a pilot for a Chinese Airline and regularly layover in PEK. Currently my airline puts us up in the Crowne Plaza and I highly recommend that one if you can afford it.

Right near the Lido and next to the Marriot Courtyard hotel is a smaller hotel called the Ausotel. It is an Australian chain and is surprisingly good. I am not sure of the cost because the room has always been provided for me, but it is a decent hotel.

CaptainMiles

I have two upcoming trips through PEK. First, arrive T3 one evening, depart T3 next morning at 7:30. Four days later, come back to PEK arriving T2 at 1am (intl arrival) and stay in PEK for several days afterwards.

I am thinking it would be a good idea to use hotels near PEK for both nights. First stay would be convenient for the 7:30 am departure, second would be convenient for the 1 am arrival. I will also have a significant amount of luggage I will not need during the four days away from PEK, and would rather travel with just a light carry on and leave my luggage behind. So it might be a good idea to leave it at the hotel in PEK.

Is there a hotel you guys would trust to keep luggage for a few days?

What hotel? If this was all out of T3, I would pick the Langham or Hilton in a heartbeat if I could stomach their prices. But that T2 arrival at 1am takes way their location advantage. Crowne Plaza perhaps? CITIC? Do their shuttles run 24 hours? Or is there a trustworthy hotel within walking distance of T2 so I don't have to deal with transportation at 1am?

RhodyRed

I'm trying to make a hotel reservation for a relative that is simple and easy to get to/from the Airport. She lands about 10pm and flies out the next morning at 10 am. Ideally a hotel in/near a neighborhood in which she can walk and get some "fresh" air in the morning before her flight home. Is there such a place?

I've found lots of hotels on the usual sites but was looking for personal recs.

JDiver

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