China Travel Advice

Q: Suppose I arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport in the evening (about 7:00 pm?), what would be the best way for me to travel to Beijing Foreign Studies University (Bei Wai)?

Beijing Foreign Studies University (Beijing Waiguo Yu Daxue, or Bei Wai) is located on Western Third Beltway (Xi San Huan Lu). The airport is located east of the city. If you do not have a whole lot luggage with you, you can take a shuttle bus at the airport. Line 4 is what you want. There should be shuttle buses on this route from early morning to the midnight, every 20 minutes or so. Fare is 20 Chinese dollars or so. You get off at the stop that is Beijing Television Station (Beijing Dianshi Tai). There you'll be a couple of hundred meters from the the university. You can probably get a cab there to cover the remaining distance.

If you take a taxi at the airport to go to BFSU directly, it costs you about 100 Chinese dollars (there is a 10 dollar freeway toll). Travel time is about an hour.

There is also train service from Beijing Capital Airport into the city. But the terminal of the service, Airport Express, is Dongzhimen, which is located on Eastern Second Beltway. After getting off the train, you still have take a cab to get to the university. You can also change to subway train to get to close to your destination and then take a city bus for a short ride. This is probably a little too complicated if you're new to the city, and it is no more convenient and costs more than going on a shuttle bus and connecting with a cab. Any, the cost of a ride on the Airport Express is 25 Chinese dollars, and remaining tax fare is around 30-40 dollars.