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!

As you know, I live on Line 10 (Shuangjing). For me, Shuangjing is a little bit too far from Sanyuanqiao to make your plan attractive (one hour door-to-door v. 30 mins by taxi). I support your plan for subway stations <5 stops from Sanyuanqiao. In terms of hotels (with good subway access), this would be: Hilton, Kempinski, Westin, Sheraton, Landmark, Kunlun, Zhaolong, Millennium. Plus the Softitel at Sanyuanqiao itself. (These places are all southbound on Line 10; I'm not so knowledgeable about properties on the other side of the bend.)

I generally agree with your take on situation. All those hotels you mention would be pretty convenient to taking AE + Line 10 for a short distance. And there are a number of convenient-to-Line 10 hotels also heading the other way (north, "up the bend" as you say and over towards Haidian). When I was living at Shuangjing with choice of subway + AE or taxi, usually I'd do taxi on the outbounds esp for international flights (heavily luggaged-up moving stuff permanently back to USA). Or just didn't want to get all sweaty with the walking and the transfers.

For the inbounds if lightly luggaged, about 50/50 on taxi depending on time of day and traffic situation. My inbound internationals are generally on Star Alliance so from T3, that annoying T3-to-T2 extra segment on the AE works as a deterrent. But for a morning rush arrival, the lesser of the evils, since even the "outer route" down the 5th Ring Road gets jammed up once you get to Jianguomen and try to head into the city. The 3rd and 4th Rings in rush hour = a big parking lot. I loathe sitting motionless and trapped in a cab even more than I loathe crowded subways that still keep moving. But that's just me.

A day late and a dollar short :p

Apparently not just the Chinese ..... In Jakarta the trike driver looked at the map, said OK (OK, more of a motion since he didn't speak English I don't speak Bahasa and I wasn't willing to get on a moto taxi with English speaking driver).

Proceeds in general direction, then asks if I want mall or hotel :confused: Then proceeds to turn in WRONG direction :(

The other reason I enjoyed the subway is to see how the Chinese do it. Gotta say, next to Jakartese, they are downright polite when it comes to staying in line :)

Back to PEK in a week for another 20 hour layover - going to look at hotels on line 10.

EmailKid, wanting to come back for a longer period when nightime temps don't go below freezing

What's your price range? Of the hotels I listed, the Westin is my favorite, and has a subway entrance (Liangmaqiao; just one stop south of Sanyuanqiao) directly in front of the main entrance. But, unless you can find a good rate code or use some SPG points, it is very expensive. The Kunlun is a stone's throw from the Westin and about 40% cheaper; it is solid.

As for cheaper options, Zhaolong would probably be top pick because it is: 1) close to Tuanjiehu Stn; and 2) is basically in Sanlitun. Second choice would be the Landmark... attached to the Sheraton, only around $60 per night on Expedia last time I checked. If you want cheaper still, I like the Yo Yo hotel in Sanlitun at y310 per night. I've been putting up budget conscious guests there recently, and they've been quite pleased. It's a 10 minute walk from Tuanjiehu Station.

Yes, I did, but we happen to have a (silent) agreement to go budget anywhere we can and at least try to attempt and use public transportation - even here in Portland, but when we drive we use our own ev's - so proudly emit zero emission !
Coincidentally, my biggest thrill of the last week was riding endlessly in the top front seats of a double-decker to explore around HongKong :D
However, there's nothing worse than entering a country for the first time basically unprepared. Not able to speak the language or make yourself understandable makes it utterly frustrating and oneself kinda ignorant IMHO.
I speak some 7 languages almost all fluently but with Mandarin I encountered my first ever seemingly insurmountable barrier.
But we managed quite well - often due to the great help from FT's as jiejie and got were we needed to be - in hindsight with a lot of fun, all the while observing and getting a glimpse of how the locals deal with their daily transportation and even getting some interactions - exactly what we were looking for and didn't so much as find in The Peninsula or the glitzy Marriott ;)

It was definitely worth the try - we weren't exactly on a tight schedule, were quite able to walk distances with luggage and the several flights of stairs thru the underpass to get to the other side meant absolutely nothing compared to the countless amount of stairs I've got to negotiate frequently to the London Tube .. :)

I'm most definitely a budget traveler :p

In my previous life travel was part of my work, so I'm using my hotel points in places that aren't cheap. So Holiday Inn Express was only 10K points, though it did require two transfers. I was a LOT more comfortable going back, and was comfortable enough to get on a bus from Tienanmen Square back to the hotel, though I did miss my stop to get off by one.

Looking at same or Holiday Inn, though may well try your suggestion for Yo Yo hotel.

Thanks for the help ^

EmailKid

Did you know that there are 3 IHG hotels in BJ on PointsBreaks right now?

HOLIDAY INN BEIJING DESHENGMEN
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS BEIJING MINZUYUAN
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL BEIJING PARKVIEW WUZHOU

None of these are in good locations, but that's usually the way the ball bounces with PointsBreaks. Of the 3, I'd probably go with the Crowne Plaza (1 km walk from nearest station on Line 10, according to their web site). Second choice: Deshengmen. Given you're only in town for one night, I'd pass on Minzuyuan even if it was free... too far away (web site map is wrong).

I think the nearest metro stop for the Crowne Plaza Wuzhou is Huixinxijiebeikou on line 5 (change at huixinxijienankou on line 10). The "as the crow flies" distance is probably 1 km, but given that you have to walk along the side road for the 4th ring road and that you can't enter the Crowne Plaza complex from the south side, I guess the actual walk will be more like 2km.

If you really want to go with the local public transportation experience, according to Baidu maps you can get there from the metro stop using bus 110, 408, 479 or 406). If you have anything more than light luggage though I would just take a taxi ...

The hotel does have a reasonably decent (or so I am told - by someone who used to live there) Brazilian BBQ.

One of the things that bugs me about Beijing is the fact that most of the Metro stations are not designed so that you can use them as an underpass. Not only is this annoying if you want to avoid crossing one of the wide roads - but it means often you really have to check which exit you need before passing out through the ticket barrier.

I'm not sure if this is through lack of thought in planning the stations - or whether it is on purpose (to limit the number of people passing through the station at busy times?). Not all stations are like this - but enough are that you need to pay attention...

We've discussed this topic in the past. jiejie theorized that usability a low priority in the eyes of subway planners. There is one really nice subway station in Shanghai, Century Avenue (multiple lines pass through it and the transfers are completely painless). I met China Trvl a few months ago and he explained to that the reason it is nice is because the original station was an unviable disaster, so they brought in the MTR (HK) people to redo it.

Back on topic, I was tempted earlier to advise Email Kid to book the Crowne Plaza and grab a taxi at Sanyuanqiao, but I held back because Sanyuanqiao is in the running for the most confusing subway station in China (though Peoples Square in SH is the clear leader in this category). I go to meetings there about once a week and invariably emerge from the underground to see my destination building across many lanes of convoluted highways. The thought of schlepping around there in the cold with luggage sends shivers up my spine... though walking 1 km along 4th Ring with luggage is admittedly an even less attractive proposition.

HI Deshengmen always gave me club access with breakfast as a PC Plat, not sure on points but I would assume the same.

No, I haven't checked since before leaving on my trip, but was going to since I'll arrive in PEK Friday.

And no, PointBreaks aren't always most inconvenient :p

On my positioning flight to PEK from DAL had a forced overnight in SEA (SEA-SFO-PEK $405.20 all in :D ) and as luck would have it 5K points for Holiday Inn with shuttle to/from SEA.

Another one in BTS (Bratislava, Slovakia so no need to look it up) where I was for four nighs earlier this year.

Didn't take my two small backpacks on bus, only metro. This time will arrive during daylight hours, so it may be a little easier.

I've eaten Brazilian BBQ in Rio, but when in Rome .... prefer to eat Chinese in China.

Well, it was cold when I shlepped 3 Km to work with my backpacks (I walk to work every workday). NOT PEK cold, but still. Lucky had a ride to airport. But taxi from subway, er, metro may be the way to go.

Not Plat for two years now. Just using up accumulated points as situation warrants.

Thanks for all the useful info ^ Off to see if I can snag that 5K Crowne Plaza :)

EmailKid

The sanyuanqiao station is certainly in my experience the most horrendous in Beijing. I find it remarkable that there aren't even any clear signposts in Chinese (let alone English) to guide you from this freeway/flyerover nightmare to the nearest "pedestrian" street.

It's worth doing a little homework on this station though as it is useful to get to a number of places. For all points south of the expressway (inside and outside the 3rd ring) you want exit C2. Google maps doesn't show the paths you can use - but the Baidu map does. There are underpasses to cross over to the other side of the 3rd ring before you reach Xiaoyunlu. If you are heading somewhere further up Xiaoyunlu then it is faster to head NE from the C2 exit - though this path is a little more complicated

Baidu map of the Sanyuanqiao Metro area

Is there something going on on December 3 :confused:

All three report

Edited to add:

This one and BEIJING TEMPLE OF HEAVEN where I stayed before (2 Metro transfers).

Should be easier with Saturday arrival Sunday departure. Also going to take a look at beforementioned inexpensive hotel, as I don't mind contributing to the economy, as long as I can do it on my Budget Travel budget.

EmailKid

I actually have guests staying at the Yo Yo until Friday, so it would be easy for me to ask them to hold a room for you. It often sells out, especially on weekends, so reservations are pretty much necessary. (Two weeks ago, I went there to check in myself because my guests weren't able to arrive before the 8p deadline, and there was a guy at the counter claiming to be me. I sorted things out in a jiff, and the strange man launched into a temper tantrum.)

Like I mentioned up thread, the rooms there cost y310 and y320, which I think is an excellent value (as do others, apparently). But, I should point out that there are also much cheaper options in the area. For example, there is a youth hostel attached to the Zhaolong Hotel (very close to Tuanjiehu Stn) that is safe, clean, and reasonably comfortable.

:eek: A Bogus Moondog loose in Beijing?! Wow. Just wow that somebody would try this stunt. And what lucky timing you happened to show up when this roomjacking attempt was being perpetrated. I take it the guy masquerading as you was another foreigner, not Chinese. (If a Chinese, I could see why the desk clerk might have been suspicious if the reservation was in your name.) :D

He was from some Mid East country. It wouldn't have mattered if he was Chinese though because one of my guests was a Chinese guy.

moondog,

thanks for your generous offer, but that's still about $50 by my calculation for Yo Yo, so will probably opt to stay on points. But will take a look at other options you suggested as well.

Hard to pay even fifty dollars when paying less than thirty in Thailand ;) Using points kind of eases me back to the real world.

EmailKid

Well, maybe third time the charm - internet cafe computer first shut down Mozilla Firefox browser and then Windows Vista crashed while trying to post this reply :mad: :rolleyes: :td:

So found what appears to be a rather promising property in a good location that I can book on Expedia for about $27 US, but I cannot figure out how to print out the address in Mandarin, and am a little wary about trying to find it with only an English map.

Beijing City Courtyard Hotel

14 Liulisi Xiang, Baochao Hutong East Gulou Street, Dongcheng Dist. Beijing, 118305 China (not sure if this long web address will work) has good review. Close to Clock tower and reasonably close to metro lines.

Any thoughts before I chicken out go back to Holiday Inn Express, which I found before so will most likely find again @:-)

EmailKid

Go for it.... lots to explore in that area.

I'd go for it. This is not that hard to find. Assuming you are coming from airport by light rail on Airport Express, you want to go all the way to Dongzhimen transport hub, then follow signs to subway Line 2. Then go northbound to Guloudajie stop (3rd stop). You want a south exit. Walk south on Guloudajie until you can't go any further, that's Gulou West Street. Turn left and within a minute or so you'll see the Drum Tower, you can't miss it--it's the big red one with solid walls at the bottom. Do NOT turn off before Guloudajie if you happen to see another lighter color tower earlier--that is the Bell Tower (google maps has the inaccurate "Clock Tower" name.) You want the Drum Tower, which is further south. You will be on the west side of the Drum Tower and you want to walk around to the east side. Face east and that's Gulou DONG Dajie which runs east-west. It's lined with trees all the way down but they'll be no leaves on the trees right now! Stay on the north side of Gulou Dong Dajie and walk a few minutes to Baochao Hutong, turn left. You should see Liulisi Xiang pretty soon after turning. ("xiang" indicates it may be on a little side alley off Baochao Hutong. Take the hotel's phone number in case you get lost, which I suspect you won't. The Drum Tower is the key to getting oriented, and that's easy to find. I estimate from the subway exit, you've got a 20 minute walk. Beijing streets at intersections in this area are well signed in both characters and the English pinyin, so you should be able to follow along even with an English map.

Or catch a cab from the Dongzhimen hub. Take hotel number with you, and (assuming you have a mobile phone that works locally) dial it as you get in cab and hand to cabbie to talk to hotel. All cabbies known the Drum Tower and Gulou Dong Dajie.

A colleague from Denmark stayed there this summer for a few nights and told me that the place was good - but hard to find ....

Assuming that the address as given in the booking is correct (14 liulisi hutong) it should be about here:
(39.94469084981864, 116.40091359615326) {enter into search bar on Google maps}

There is something marked as "citycourt hotel" - but this might not be the exact location. It should be close though.

If you can do a screen print you here is a link to a map in Chinese that you can use to show people if you get in trouble finding the place:

Baidu map centered at liulisi hutong

ADDED NOTE: The directions given above by jiejie are the safest way to find the place - if you are feeling confident though you can follow those instructions as far as getting to the Gulou subway stop and walking south. Then take the first hutong on the east side just after all the construction chaos ("zhangwang hutong" - you know it will be the right one if you immediately see a small sign for a restaurant called Cafe Sambal on the corner of the hutong and the main road) and then keep walking east. This eventually becomes liulisi hutong.

CORRECTION: Cafe Sambal is on the corner of the first hutong to the south of zhangwang hutong ("Bed bar" is along zhangwang hutong and can be used to confirm you are on the right path).
In this case taking a taxi and calling the hotel could also be a good option ....

By this point in the thread, we should all realize that our boy is anti-taxi, and try our best to accommodate.

OK, thanks again for all the useful replies. Just booked it at 26.20 with Expedia service fees. Several review say it's a good "Chinese experience" so looking forward to this on my short layover.

Well, hopefully I can follow jiejie's instructions.

While I try to avoid taxis, I'm not above using them to get to my final destination from the metro, especially if otherwise I may not find what I'm looking for. In fact I was about to try to grab a taxi from the metro when I could not get anyone to help me with directins on my first layover.

My flight arrives after 4 p.m. and next one leaves at 1:40 the next day, so not much time to explore.

EmailKid

I suggest you use a combination of jiejie's and my directions (a plan A and a plan B in jiejie parlance...).

If you can can easily find the entrance to zhangwang hutong as you walk south from the Gulou metro station then take this route (you will save more than 1 km walk according to the Baidu map). If not then continue with jiejie's directions and they will get you there smoothly.