I'm thinking about flying Beijing Capital from PEK-ERL to hop across the border. Does anyone have any experience flying them?
Cheers
Howie

Many visa reset people seem to avail of them (on that precise route) and have no complaints. But, be advised that the hop across the border is anything but quick (I've never done it myself, but have heard lots of first hand reports).

I've heard this but it seems like an adventure
Cheers
Howie

I have flown this very flight on Capital Airlines PEK-ERL for the same purpose: resetting my visa duration of stay clock. When I went, flight was an early departure about 7:30 arr ERL 8:45. The entire round trip can be done in 24 hours Beijing-to-Beijing using ground transport to return. The crossing and recrossing sequence takes about 3-ish hours. If you want to fly back to Beijing, you'll have to overnight at Erlian and get the return flight to PEK the next morning.

Caveat: if you just want to hop the border without any particular visa reset need, don't bother. Zamyn Uud on the Mongolian side is a dusty and uninspiring frontier town and there's nothing worth seeing.

If you need a full process description of how to do the visa run, start a new thread just for that, and we'll leave this for Capital Airlines. Capital is part of the Hainan Airlines family and has some funky but useful destinations. I have no problem flying them.

I want to do it some day for this very reason. I don't think it's possible to fly back the same day, so you'll either need to spend a night (presumably on the Chinese side) or grab a taxi back to Beijing. There are a few good trip reports floating around the web if you search for Erlian and visa.

I'm not doing a visa run I want to do the train to UB on a day that doesn't originate in BJ. Figure this will add to the adventure of the Journey
Cheers
Howie

I didn't assume that you were (because you clearly don't live in China), but those search terms will give you a lot of info about the border crossing drill and what it entails (e.g. iirc, you might need to hitch a ride on some sort of truck in order to cross the no man's land area).

Done and Done! There's actually a train from Hohott (2x/weekly) and a bus(daily). The 4x4's do seem like the best adventure though. Thanks Moondog and jiejie you guys are the best!
Cheers
Howie

I completely missed jiejie's post during our dialog somehow she is quite versed or the erlian drill.

OK, this is more of a problem....er adventure. The border crossing is the lesser of the challenges. The issue is getting the Mongolian train out of Zamyn Uud to UB without getting stuck for a couple of days. This part I haven't personally had to do, but it's a real bee-yitch. There are some recent (past year or so) reports floating around the internet detailing how to do this once you get to Zamyn Uud. Some days there is only one train a day (morning) to UB; other days there is a late afternoon train and provided you can cross the border in the morning on one of those days, you stand a chance of getting a ticket in the afternoon. No way to buy in advance; you have to "queue" and if you think Chinese are bad about not respecting queues, you have yet to see the even wilder Mongolian version--but you'll get some of that at Mongolian Entry Immigration "queue!" If you cannot get a ticket for the afternoon train or you arrive on a day where it isn't scheduled, you'll have to spend the night in Z-U and expect it will be somewhat rustic. Then you'll have to scrum for the morning train ticket. Eventually you'll be successful as long as you are willing to be assertive--your reward will be getting from Beijing to UB for maybe USD 100 or less in total cost.

No, No, No. Not the right play. At all costs avoid that slow clunker train from Hohhot to Erlian. If you don't want to fly on the Capital Airlines flight PEK-ERL, the best way to do this is take any PEK train heading to Hohhot or Baotou, only as far as Jining (Jining Nan station) and get off. Hohhot is too far. Jining is often shown on maps as Ulanqab. Take the bus from there. Jining Nan is a major junction station and multiple daily trains stop there. From train station, Jining long distance bus station is across the main road and north (left) about 5 minutes walk. Bus to Erlian takes about 5 hours including a midway stop, on decent to excellent road. Most buses leave in the morning, one or two in first half of afternoon. If you have to choose an overnight in Erlian or Z-U, pick Erlian. But with careful timing and a spot of luck, you can escape without getting stuck at either.

It is true that you cannot cross the border on foot (true for either direction) but must be in a vehicle. Most travelers negotiate for a ride in a Jeep. Loaded with goods heading into Mongolia, usually empty heading into China.

Unless I'm missing something he wants to go from zu to ub on the train that starts in Beijing.

I didn't catch that in his posts, but it doesn't work that way.

Negative on that I'm trying to avoid the direct train due to me not being able to make it to PEK for the TU/WE departure.
Cheers
Howie

I'm considering that route as well . My understanding is the train from Hohot arrives ERL in the morning and departs for UB in the evening 2x weekly is this still a slow train once it crosses into Mongolia? I was planning to join it in ERL. I've read up on the lack of any sort of order for train tickets in ZU so I'm expecting to let the New Yorker in me out in order to get what I need Any budget hotel suggestions in ERL? Saw a suggestion for a place that was charging RMB 100 and seemed decent.
Cheers
Howie

I get the fact that he'll need to try his luck at the ticket counters on the Mongolia side of the border (and might end up having to spend a day or two in miserable lodging), but the train that starts in Beijing is presumably fair game, right?