What to do during a 10 hour layover at Beijing airport
 

My boss is flying from SIN to PEK tonight arriving at PEK at 5:50 AM.
His flight from PEK to EWR does not leave until 3:35 PM on Saturday.
He does not have a visa so he can't leave the airport.
He's flying in Business class but he said that there isn't a United Lounge at the airport.
Any suggestions on what he can do for 9 hours 45 minutes at the airport?

Air China lounge is the place to go if he does not want to take a train to downtown area. If he has never visited Beijing, he should take train/subway to visit the Tiananmen Square area and Wangwujin street. Good luck.

Pax qualifies for transit without visa (TWOV) and can leave PEK airport. Instruct pax to look for the TWOV desk (it's literally a desk) at the far end of the immigration counters upon arrival. There might be a long line, but one should be through with the process within an hour.

Correct, assuming he holds an eligible passport. US and Singapore passport holders are eligible, but I obviously don't know the passenger's nationality.

Thanks for the clarification, yes I jumped the gun a little bit and assumed pax is a U.S./Canada/Mexico passport holder. Nationality is a determinant for TWOV.

I think Singapore , Japan a few very small nations passport holders do not need visas. US passport gets 72hr transit with out visa within the city.

If you can get a transit visa the great wall is nearby, or you can catch a taxi to the forbidden city. Taxi's are freakishly cheap.

Beijing airport sucks, I do not recommend hanging out there for a long layover. Hopefully the Tom Brady Bar is finally open atleast... unless he is from Atlanta

Please follow the thread as it moves to FlyerTalk's China forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator.

yes , my boss is a U.S. citizen

Can he use the Air China lounge if he is flying from SIN to PEK on Air China even though his flight was booked through United

Private guides are really inexpensive compared to some other destinations. 10 hours should be plenty of time for a quick looksee in the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square (adjacent and it is a big square so does not take hours so could be done first thing before FC opens) and possibly even the National Museum of China which is very close by to both the Square and FC (although that packs a lot in a very short period of time). I would def recommend a private guide though. It is such a short period of time that figuring out logistics is just not worth it. We hired guides over many days to see specific things and it was money well spent.

UA J passengers can use Air China's Business Class Lounge.

He can get a public taxi to Tiananmen Square and look around and then walk to the forbidden city when it opens (at 8:30 a.m.)?

He should beware of taxi scams and touts and only take either a public metered taxi or a pre-arranged taxi, not a "private taxi" offered by a tout at the airport.

His Air China flight from SIN to PEK is Fare Class: Business (C)
and his United flight from PEK to EWR is Fare Class; United Polaris business (P)

Can he use the Air China lounge at PEK with a ticket in these fare classes?

Yes. Just show the boarding pass at the entrance, and the attendant will direct the way to the business class lounge.