exchange at Beijing airport
 

At Beijing airport is the Bank of China in the Arrivals area still the best place to exchange cash USD and JPY to cash RMB?

Probably not because most banks at the airport hit you with a flat Y50 fee. ATMs are the best way to ago (stated many times here). For hard currency exchanges, both hotels and in-town bank branches are okay. There are also some forex ATMs at the airport.

Are the exchange rates at Beijing airport the same as Beijing downtown?
 

I am going to be exchanging several thousand dollars to RMB so a flat fee 0f Y50 would be a very small percentage . Are the exchange rates at Beijing airport the same as Beijing downtown?

Just do not use Travelex. I once compared the rates at the airport and downtown and the difference was very small. Slightly better downtown but not much.

counterfeit Y100 bills ?
 

Has anyone been given counterfeit Y100 bills at the airport?

Do you mean from taxi drivers attempting a switcharoo or from legitimate distribution channels that are all heavily scrutinized by security cameras? Bear in mind that since it is impossible to get a Y100 note in change, I didn't mention this possibility.

the safest most secure exchange place?
 

I mean from one of the legitimate channels e.g. .Bank of China.
Since our group expects to change several thousand dollars if we want to avoid counterfeits do we have to carefully inspect each bill received from a bank at the airport?
What’s the safest most secure exchange place?

Can you elaborate on the "fake 100s from BoC" scam? I.e. where did you read about it? I have honestly never heard of such before. And, on the remote chance that it does exist, Capital Airport is the last place I would suspect.

For amounts over $10,000, black market money changers (the ones with actual stores) honestly aren't a bad way to go. It's pretty easy to find the good ones by asking around (people that are likely to be knowledgeable).

I have been living and traveling in China for 10 years. A ton of cash has gone through my hand (even had to pay rent in cash in one place) and I have yet to come across a fake bill. I highly doubt that you'd get a fake bill at the bank. They are much better than you to spot fakes.

Counterfeit rmb
 

On a “Beijingholiday.com” website the writer stated he received a counterfeit 50 RMB at a 5 star hotel and 100 RMB from a Bank of China ATM.
Lonely Planet “ Beijing” page 256 states “Counterfeit notes are a problem across China , Beijing included . Very few shopkeepers will accept Y50 or Y100 notes without ultraviolet light testing first.”
Is Capitol Airport the place where counterfeit bills are least likely to occur?

I did a site search on beijingholiday because I was curious to read about the "fake 100 from the ATM", but couldn't find it. And, your LP quote makes absolutely no mention of banks distributing fake money (so is of ZERO relevance to this topic).

As for your question, here's a question in return for you: if 10 stones each weigh 10 pounds, which stone is the heaviest?

In every report of fake bills from ATMs that I've come across the victim only discovers their bills are fake when they use them to pay a dodgy taxi driver/shop owner.

...after the seller performs a switcheroo:)

Bit of a FOB question but I have some GBP I want to change to RMB. Never done this before so what is the best way to go about it downtown Beijing? Do most banks normally offer currency exchange? I presume I would need to take passport... Anything else?

My folks did this the last time they we visited Beijing together. All they need was a passport. They went to the Bank of China at the corner of Chang'An Jie and Wangfujing Jie and were directed to a machine. Everything was automatic and the rate was the same as they received in Shenyang, if not a little better.