Beijing Capital Airport: A Traveler's Guide to PEK
Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) sits about 25 km northeast of downtown Beijing and is one of two airports serving the city — the other, Daxing (PKX), is a separate facility about an hour to the south, so double-check your boarding pass before booking a transfer. PEK has three terminals: T3, opened for the 2008 Olympics, is the giant one used by Air China, Star Alliance carriers and most international flights, split into T3C, T3D and T3E, with an internal automated people-mover connecting the far concourses. T1 and T2 mainly handle domestic and a handful of international routes. If you're connecting between terminals, build in extra time — T3 alone can mean a 15-20 minute walk or train ride between gates.
Immigration, customs and security
Foreign arrivals go through immigration first, where China's expanding visa-free and transit-visa-free schemes now let citizens of many countries (including most of the EU, the UK, Australia and several others) enter without a visa for stays up to 30 days, or transit visa-free for up to 240 hours if flying onward to a third country — check current eligibility before you fly, since the list changes. Security for departures is thorough and can queue up during morning banks of flights, so allow at least 3 hours for international connections and don't cut it close on a short layover.
Getting into the city
The Beijing Capital Airport Express subway line is the fastest, cheapest option: a flat fare of about 25 CNY (roughly $3.5) gets you from T2 or T3 to Sanyuanqiao or Dongzhimen station in about 20-25 minutes, where you transfer onto the main subway grid. Airport shuttle buses run set routes into the city for a similar price but take longer in traffic. Taxis are metered and typically run 100-150 CNY into the city center, 45-70 minutes depending on traffic — use the official taxi rank, not touts inside the terminal. Ride-hailing apps work but usually require a Chinese phone number and payment method, so they're not a reliable fallback for a first-time visitor.
Two things to know before you land
China's Great Firewall blocks Google, Gmail, Maps, WhatsApp, Instagram and most Western apps — set up a VPN before you leave home, since VPN provider websites are themselves often blocked once you arrive. And bring cash or a linked international card: China's economy runs heavily on WeChat Pay and Alipay, and not every taxi or small vendor takes foreign cards, so a small stash of yuan from an airport ATM or currency counter is worth having on arrival.