Thank you Richard and Moondog, long time lurker, first time replying.

I think using the miles is a good idea, the biggest reason I believe taking the train is a bad idea is due to the mess of entering and exiting Chinese train stations that don't get many foreign passengers.

But on moondog's point, the rail system in China is actually quite convenient but if you've never taken it before, Beijing West is really not a great place to start. If you're ever curious about the rail system, I suggest taking a day trip to Tianjin, which is a 34 minute ride on the high-speed train from Beijing South. It's a conveniently located station outside of South 2nd Ring Road where traffic is usually not too bad. That station is much better laid out, and I feel overall more foreigner friendly. A first class ticket is only 59.5RMB (about $11 USD).

Either way, enjoy your time in Beijing!

15,000 miles +$20 for a trip that would otherwise cost less than $100 (plane or train)? I don't think this is a good idea at all (in spite of the fact that my valuation for UA miles is reaching an all time low).

The day trains are scenic, and 2nd class is quite okay.

For the night trains, soft sleepers don't cost a lot more than airplane tickets, and you save one night's worth of hotel costs.

I agree that Beijing West is not a very nice place, BUT it deserves a big feather in its cap for its proximity to the DT (nothing else is nearby the DT).

We did use the sleeper train from Beijing West to Xian. It is a very messy train station and it was packed to the gills. After boarding it was ok though because the 3 of us had our own compartment (we did buy a 4th ticket to make sure) and our son enjoyed the ride. Unfortunately I did not sleep much but we did arrive in the morning in Xian and had a full day available.

I would be a bit reluctant without somebody that speaks the local language though. Also I am not big sharing a (very small) room with strangers. The bathroom also got a bit smelly by the morning.

Train stations are the worst part of the train travel experience by far. Even nicer stations like Beijing South and Shanghai Hongqiao are still the pits (do they honestly need 4 KFC branches each?!). That having been said, Chinese airports aren't exactly nirvana either, and they tend to suck up more time. Plus, flights are chronically delayed (PEK-XIY and vv can be a particularly devilish route; I've wasted entire days in each direction on numerous occasions).

Once you actually get on the train, the experience is quite nice. If you don't want to share a sleeping cabin with strangers, you can always buy the remaining beds, but I've never felt the least bit uncomfortable with the sharing thing (e.g. I hang out in the dining car until around 11, and then sleep like a rock after returning to my room).

I tend to agree on this.

How about using 15K UA miles for the PEK-KWL flight?

The running fare is 1200 to 1400. Within 10 days to departure it drops down to 880 to 980 (with CA and CZ, ignore the LCC).

However have to book UA award outside 21 days window to avoid the close-in fee of $75 per.

What would you do? UA award or Pay Ticket?

No Gaotie.

The overnight train would be my first preference, but if I had to fly, I'd spend cash in favor of using miles. I'm not sure what LCC plies that route, but I'd have no hesitation at all trying it.

I also incline to spend cash.

There is no Gaotie between Beijing and Guilin.

I thought you told me not to take the LCC in the China forum, and stick with CA or CZ whichever has the early morning flight out of PEK?

I might have advise you to steer clear from Spring because their seats are brutal, but most of the others are okay enough.

DT Beijing to PEK capital airport
 

Does somebody know when I would have to leave the hotel (by taxi) if I wanted to catch a 8.25AM international flight on a weekday?

How would that change if I had a 3pm departure?

And how much should I expect to pay for a (public) taxi?

I'd leave at 6a (taxi = ~y110) for the 825a flight or noon (taxi = ~y120) for the 3p flight.

Just foolish or plain crazy?
 

Going back to Beijing after almost 20 years and will be staying at the Doubletree Beijing. Partly out of a sense of adventure and partly due to my parsimonious nature, I was debating the merits of taking a subway train from the BCIA station to Caishikou station and then catching the free Doubletree shuttle. I won't have much luggage (just a rollaboard) and will be landing around 3pm; of course I do not speak any brand of Chinese.

So just how crazy is this idea?

I actually just had a 2 week stay at this Doubletree from August 25 through to September 6 and had no idea they offered a free shuttle of any sort. Where did you come across this information?

But if they do offer a free shuttle, and it is clearly labelled, then your plan is not totally unfeasible as the subway system is relatively straightforward and English labels are all readily available throughout the network and on all ticket machines.

Otherwise I was amazed to find just how many taxi drivers knew this hotel by name and did not need any directions to get here. The Chinese name is "Xi Er Dun Yi Lin Jiu Dian" and mention it is near "Shou Pa Kou Qiao". Having taken somewhere around 20-30 different taxis to this hotel, only one single driver did not know this place right away, and yet was able to find it easily enough after mentioning what was nearby. All this to mean that if you don't take the subway you can get here easily enough via taxi and for only around 120 RMB including the 10 RMB toll from the airport.

Overall the stay was alright, not blown away or anything but quite sufficient for a hotel close enough to everything I needed. FYI if you really get adventurous this hotel is VERY convenient for public transit via bus, but this will require some Chinese.

PS: if you have a choice, do take breakfast in the EL here, there seems to be more choice in the ground floor restaurant but anything they offer there can be delivered upstairs to the EL which is much nicer and MUCH less crowded.

Crazy is swimming with sharks or extreme skiing. This is entirely feasible, but rather pointless. If you want to save the $20 cab ride, you could get the subway to close to the hotel and then a cab...which may cost $2-4. If it's a fear of communicating with a cab, fair point. Go for it.

Getting buses in China can be daunting, but if one has a decent smartphone with GPS, it's not too bad: you can easily figure out where to get off. Knowing which bus to get is a bit more of a hassle (can look up when have wifi in advance and then make a note). If one has data, it's all very easy: google maps tells you which bus to take, how many stops etc...

tb

I did buy a 4G data plan while I was there, but could not connect to any Google services (including Maps), but was able to sporadically receive Gmail. Although Baidu Maps offers very clear public transit instructions, but if taking the bus you either need to know what your stop is called (sounds like or how the Chinese symbols look) or ask the ticket seller to tell you when you've arrived. Both require some grasp of Chinese though as there is almost no English available on the bus or at bus stops.

Always turn on your VPN when you want use maps and Google is set as your default map app (otherwise configure your phone so that Baidu performs the map function).