Overnite in PEK
 

In a few days we'll be arriving in PEK with a 17 hr layover en route to HKG.
Arrival is on UA - scheduled for 16.25 on Monday.

With no valid visa for me, could we proceed and try to take a look outside the airport ?
Take a taxi to where (no Mandarin speak) ?
In which terminal should we stay to kill the remaining hours - departure is very early the next morning on HongKong Express ?
Will there be any lounges open ?
If not, will there be free WiFi anywhere?

If we are able to go landside, what would be the procedures and what would be the possibilities for a couple of hours ?
It's gonna be very cold according to the forecast, so limited outside activities, I'm afraid :(

You can go through the transit immigration counter and show them your onward boarding pass, and you can get out of the airport. You should get a hotel around the airport or head toward the north east area of the city to get some good food and rest well for the next day. Although T2 and T3 should be open 24 hours, but the lounge would be closed. PEK does have wifi, although you will need to submit your id to get an access key that is good for a couple of hours and each id can request up to 3 access keys.

It is quite cold, below freezing with fairly strong wind as I type this at Holiday Inn Express in Beijing (staying on points) while transiting visa free.

23 hour or less no problem - go to left side at immigration, NOT to foreign, but special desk, show your onward reservation, change some money (forex is ripoff, used ATM) and take the train to town. Get off, take subway to what you want to see. All is well marked in English.

Oh, pick up map at tourist info. And yes, outside tourist info and HIE no English so far, in fact very poor map skills (could not tell me which way to go for 10 minute walk when I showed both present location - inexpensive hotel beside subway stop - and HIE, all in Mandarin characters :rolleyes: :( :td: ).

EmailKid, up early due to jatlag

Thanks so much !

Like you stated, immigration was no problem whatsoever. Stamped and exited within minutes.
This jetlag hit us also harder than usual and we crashed for the night - without a side-trip into town - in a very convenient Terminal hotel (by the hour or full nite) that we stumbled upon in Terminal 2. Excellent choice as it turned out and were pleasantly surprised.

Searching now for another night for inbound layover, which is about the same time-span.
We might take the same convenient Terminal hotel, this time with the side-trip into town on the rail/subway link departing from Terminal 3.

Hope the fog/smog combination isn't so bad as it looked from the airport :)

As Beijing goes, fog/smog today (after a few very nice but cold blue-sky days) isn't that bad.

Airport Terminal hotels, also known as "Time-Rate Lounges." Actually there is one of these on the nonsecure side of each of Terminals 1, 2, and 3. So if one of them is full, have them call over to see if there is space at one of the other terminals. T1 is probably the least busy and most quiet but also the least central to the action. Walk-up only, no reservations taken unless they have recently changed policy. There is also one of these in the international airside (secure side) part of T3, near gate E10 I believe. That one is rather pricey and gets so-so reviews.

PEK landside
 

Thanks bunches jiejie - will try and check out the one at T3-landside as it seems easier to get onto the subway system from this terminal, correct ?
BTW .. having a great time in HKG while partner is doing big biz in Shenzhen :)

@ jiejie:

Would you be so kind and may recommend a reasonable hotel downtown, preferably close to a metro-station and thus within easy reach of the airport T3 ?

TIA !

What time does your outbound flight leave? The airport train isn't especially useful IMO; much moreso than the Maglev in SH, but far inferior to HEX in HK.

Currently en route HKG-PEK, but the inbound PEK-SFO is scheduled to depart 11/27 at 1.15 pm from Capital Airport.

Booked a hotel yesterday apparently near to a metro station in the Dongcheng district - in somewhat of a hurry I'm afraid. It seemed to have good reviews tho.

Any thoughts with regards to transportation ? - remember... it's our first visit, with very limited time for advance planning.
Or should a taxi be recommended ?

Many Thanks in advance !

Taxi, for sure. It's a weekend.

Why? Does the train not run on weekends?

Pretty sure I came in on Saturday and as first time visitor made my way to the hotel including two train (metro) changes.

OK, the last half mile from the station was a bit of a challenge, though less so than today's bus ride from Jakarta's airport (one connection from express bus to incredibly sardine like packed local express bus).

And yes, no Mandarin was definitely a big hinderance AFTER exiting at last metro spot when it was pitch black (I could read the map, but could not figure out which is north and south. The Chinese could not figure out how to get me from their hotel just outside the metro to my hotel, which was a straight shot, even though I showed them both places on the map in Mandarin characters :eek: :rolleyes: :td: :( )

EmailKid, pretty sure already posted this story before

The train runs on weekends, but traffic is usually manageable (on weekends), and it's usually not too hard to find taxis on Sunday mornings. I should also note that I dislike, both the train to Line 2 transfer (I've yet to figure out a way to do it without climbing a long flight of stairs) and the inevitable need to walk ~250 meters in the cold with baggage -- navigating complicated intersections with insane drivers, enough to avail of car transport 9 times out of 10.

Ha ... we managed to do it all, just for the heck of it ... Airport Express, line 1 & 2 on the Subway, and ended up in the Marriott to ask for directions and take a cab from there.
It was quite the experience and as Emailkid already stated: It's really a challenge to find somebody that can read a map and explain in English where you want to go - especially on the Subway.
We had downloaded the address of the hotel in Chinese on our iPhone and could show it to the desk at the Marriott, where in turn they could somehow relate it to the cab-driver.
Same story this morning, where we were able to show the Dong Zhi Men Airport-Express station on the iPhone in Chinese and were on our way with lots of time to spare.

Just out of curiosity, did you at least entertain the idea of taking your taxi all the way to the airport? I did the same drill as you did exactly once; then I realized that: 1) my door-to-door time was substantially longer than taxi alone even with traffic, 2) coming from the south you invariably get dropped off on the wrong side of the street meaning underpass experience, and 3) I only ended up saving around y45.

For solo people travelling light and on a budget, the Airport Express can be very useful, particularly if your hotel/end destination is reasonably navigable from the Dongzhimen Hub.

For 2 people traveling similarly and during a heavy traffic period (esp weekdays inbound during morning rush) AE is also worth considering.

For 2 or more people traveling together under most other circumstances (heavy baggage at any time, or during relatively light Beijing traffic periods), the taxi direct from airport is usually a better bet, as the difference between taxi fare and the AE fares x 2 starts to be overshadowed in favor of convenience.

3 people traveling together makes the taxi a no-brainer.

If you plan on using AE/subway system, I find that NOT going all the way to Dongzhimen Hub, but getting off at Sanyuanqiao and doing the very easy switch to Subway Line 10 to get to a hotel on that line (10), is a more pleasant experience.

Tip: FWIW, Chinese (like most Asians) do not navigate by map and do not understand or read maps well--even the ones in Chinese!