We’d like to have the following quick guide to remain updated for the benefit of new visitors coming to Xi’an City Wall. If you have any questions or anybody having used the piece finds necessary updates, please leave a message or feedback. Thanks!
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Xian is home to the most complete and well-preserved ancient city wall in China and one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world as well.
Xian City Wall was initially built in Tang Dynasty (618 -907), based on which, the existing wall was rebuilt in Ming Dynasty during the period between 1374 and 1378. Now the remaining Xian City Wall is 12 meters tall, 18 meters wide at the base, 12-14 meters wide on the top with a perimeter of 13.74 km in length and a deep moat surrounding it.
You can stroll, even cycle or take a buggy around the Wall. Plan your Xian tour? Xian City Wall, not to be missed! The city wall itself is very impressive and ascending the wall allows you to look out on the new city from an ancient structure, avoiding the crowds and traffic with a better feel of the historical changes in the ancient capital of Xi’an with the fast development in the modern times.
How to get there
Though there are totally 18 gates to the present city wall of Xian, only the four major gates are open to the public, namely South Gate, West Gate, North Gate and East Gate. You may choose any of the four gates to ascend the wall.
Xian City Wall and Xi’an City Attractions
Just find out which gate is closer to your hotel and start up your trip to the wall. Many people would like to choose the South Gate, the largest gates of the four. It’s a 10-minute walk down south along the South Avenue from the Bell Tower to the South Gate.
The South Gate to Xian City Wall
Alternatively you can take subway line 2 from Bell Tower in the south direction and get off at the next station of Yongning Gate and exit either from Exit A1 or D1.
2. Entry Fees and Opening Hours
Entrance fee: 40 RMB Ticketing Offices: at any of the four gates to the Wall Opening Hour: 08:00 – 20:00 Suggested Travel Time: 1-3 Hours Tel: 029-87283602, 87286373
Ascending Xian City Wall
3. Best time to visit Xi’an City Wall
1) Best Months to Visit: March – June, and September – November. If you visit in July and August, the hottest months in Xian, you’d better choose to visit Wall either in the morning or after sunset to avoid the scorching sun.
2) Best Time in a Day to Ascend the Wall: Morning or later afternoon. There are parks at the base, below the wall and you can see people doing morning exercise or dancing in the evening. Ascending the Wall in the early morning to control the crowd or come to the Wall late in the evening so that you can see the wall to be lit up or enjoy the sunset over the Wall.
4. Strolling on Xi’an City Wall
The top surface of the wall is a wonderful promenade. Walking all the way around the wall takes about 2 – 3 hours, depending on how fast you are. Don’t forget bring your hate, bottled water, sunglasses and have sunblock for the stroll.
If you have no time to walk all the wall or you have no fancy for the long walk, you can choose to have a shorter stroll starting from, let’s say the South Gate and get off from the West or East Gates.
5. Riding Xi’an City Wall
Renting a bike or return your bike at any of the four gates. Basically you are required to return your bike at 6:00pm. If your riding has surpassed the designated 6:00pm, you can return your bike at 8:00pm at the South Gate.
There are plenty of bikes, single and tandem, that can save a lot of time from your walk. You can rent a single bike at 45 RMB or a tandem at 90 RMB for 2 hours. The hire stations are located at the access points of the four gates. the bike ride takes about 1 hour.
Biking on Xian City Wall
The bike ride is a little uncomfortable with the surface a bit bumpy due to the cobble stone paved surface, hurting your hands, wrists or buttocks a bit.
6. Taking a buggy around Xian City Wall
As a third choice to go around the wall surface, you can take a battery buggy driven around the entire perimeter. For an ordinary buggy for one circle, you need to pay RMB 80 or 120 for a luxury buggy.
Taking a buggy around Xian City Wall
You also can take the buggy section by section, which costs you 20 RMB for an ordinary buggy and RMB 30 for a luxury buggy between two stops.
7. English Signage
There are English signs pointing to the directions and many signs also give you the history of the wall.
8. Toilet
Use the toilets at the entrance, and there are no restrooms once you get onto the surface.
9. Little shops on the Wall
There are small shops on the surface of the wall for drinks, some refreshments or small souvenirs.
10. Vendors below the Wall
There some souvenirs stalls from vendors near the gates.
11. Local Activities below the Wall
Take your camera or iPhone to have some interesting candid photos of the local activities near the gates – dancing, singing, playing chess, etc.
Tip: Hassle-free Xian Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Xian guided tours:
We’d like to have the following quick guide to remain updated for the benefit of new visitors who would like to go shopping at the markets in Beijing.
If anybody having used the piece finds necessary updates, please leave a message or feedback. Thanks! __________________________
Plan your Beijing tour? If you are not interested in shopping at high-end Beijing shopping malls, where everything seems to be overpriced at fixed prices, then why not dig into the plentiful free or flea markets where you can enjoy bargaining with the local vendors.
If you are not familiar with the markets in Beijing, you may follow us to explore the top 10 Beijing markets below. I’m sure you will get what you want to enrich your Beijing trip.
Note: We have offered subway information on how to get to the following markets. You may use the Beijing subway map to guide you to get to these markets. Happy Shopping in Beijing!
One thing you should know is that Beijing’s overall urban blueprint has been in the process of adjusting, upgrading and standardizing. Many busy and noisy lively markets have been removed from the urban central areas and resettled in the relatively remote outskirts of Beijing.
Some lucky ones have been gentrified and placed indoors like Silk Market (now actually a huge 5-story mansion). Some of the vendors have been evacuating from the old market places and settled elsewhere. The golden “flea market” time in Beijing has been fading, gradually diluted by gentrification and disneyfication.
Normally all the markets are open all year round except Chinese Spring Festival. Most of the markets will be closed for 5 days during China Spring Festival (China’s lunar new year).
By the way, most of the department stores and shopping malls are still open during the biggest holiday in China. Most of the listed markets are mainly composed of private vendors who need to go home for family reunion for the big holiday.
Top 1: Silk Street Market 秀水街市场
Brief introduction: Placemaking in 1977. Renovation: 2019 ( JERDE is honoured to be part of the silk street renovation team). So the old silk street market has been demolished long before. The present Silk Street Market is actually a department-like store ( 5 above and 2 under ) with a floor area of 28,000 square meters.
The exterior of Silk Street Market Mansion
There are now over 500 booths in the building. According to the developer of the building, the advantages of the old market are still kept intact in the present market, targeting the international tourists and local white-collar workers.
Floor Information ( Silk Street Market )
The Silk Street Market cover multiple kinds of goods, including clothing ( F2 and F3)； shoes and bags ( B1) ； silk, jewellery and handicrafts ( F4)；Coffee, Haute Couture / Jewellery/Clothing alteration service, art gallery ( F5), Grocery Supermarket ( fruit and vegetables at B2), which are favoured by consumers all over the world.
Women’s Clothing and Apparel (F2 & F3)
Men’s Clothing and Apparel (F3)
Women’s Shoes (B1)
luggage & travel accessories ( B1)
Location: 8 Xiushui East Street, Jianwai Dajie, Chaoyang, Beijing 北京市朝阳区建外大街秀水东街8号 Tel:：(010) 56767766 Opening Hours: 9am-9pm Subway:take subway line 1 and get off at the station of Yonganli (永安里), and exit from Exit A Public Transport: Bus No.1,9,28,37,43,120,126,403,639,640,668,728,and 729, arrival at Yonganli Station
Top 2: Panjiayuan Flea Market 潘家园旧货市场
Brief introduction: Panjiayuan Flea Market, or Panjiayuan Market, or Panjiayuan Antique Market, or whatever names you use, is a must for those who like something really Chinese. From Monday to Thursday, it is open from 8:30am to 6:00pm.
On weekend, it is open from 4:30am to 6:00pm. We suggest you go to Panjiayuan on weekends. Only on weekends, you will find some vendors coming from all parts of China to show their personal stuff or artifacts they collect and sell on the ground in a designated area in the market.
Panjiayuan Flea Market
They just put a piece of blanket on the floor and put what they have on it.If you come here on other week days, you won’t see these free vendors. It is actually a huge market place for selling and collecting Chinese folk handcrafts, maybe the largest in Asia!
What you will see are jewellery, ceramics, calligraphy, teapots, ethnic clothing, Buddha statues, paper lanterns, Cultural Revolution memorabilia, PLA belts, Ming- and Qing-style furniture, old pipes, opium scales, and many more. Check out Panjiayuan Flea Market for more information.
Location: No.18, Huaweili Road, just 100 meters west of Panjiayuan Bridge on the southeast third ring road. 地址：北京市朝阳区潘家园桥华威里18号 Tel: 5120-4671
Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday open from 8:30am to 6:00pm; On weekend, open from 4:30am to 6:00pm Subway: take subway line 10 and get off at the station of Panjiayuan (潘家园） Public Transport: Take bus 28, 300, 368, 607, 730, 810 or 907 and get off at Panjiayuan Station.
Top 3: Beijing Antique City 古玩城
Brief introduction: Beijing Antique City ( former Beijing Curio City) is a four-story building. It is located just to the west of Huawei Bridge on the southeast third ring road, about 300 meters south of Panjiayuan Flee Market.
It is the largest Chinese antique trade center in Asia.
Beijing Antique City
Beijing antique city has a total floor space of 26400㎡. The building is elegantly decorated. At present it has antique over 600 dealers, mainly selling the classical furniture, the ancient clock and watch, the ancient rug, the ancient ceramics, the celebrity calligraphy and painting, the Baiyu ivory carving, the snuffbox.
It also offers the ancient rug, the copper ware image of Buddha, the ancient clock and watch, the ancient ceramic antique chinaware, the Tibetan cultural relic and much more.
Location: 21 Dongsanhuan Nan Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China （located just to the west of Huawei Bridge on the east-south third ring road, about 300 meters south of Panjiayuan Flee Market.） 地址：北京市朝阳区东三环南路21 Tel: 010-5960901，59609011
Opening Hours: 10am-7pm Subway: take subway line 10 and get off at the station of Panjiayuan (潘家园). Beijing Antique City is located to the south of Panjiayuan Flea Market. Public Transport: Take bus 28, 300, 3 52, 378, 7 57, 830 or 986 and get off at Shilihe Station.
Top 4: Hongqiao Pearl Market 红桥市场
Brief introduction: The name of Hongqiao Pearl Market is a little bit misleading. This four-story building offers much more than just pearls. It actually provides everything from bags, shoes, clothes, silk, tea, table-cloth, toys, souvenirs, to pears and jewellery.
It is just located east of the Temple of Heaven. Its main entrance – the west gate faces the road across the Temple of Heaven. If you drive to the market, you are supposed to get off at its north side gate.
Beijing Hongqiao Market
The market has four stories. The first floor sells digital products, timepieces and glasses, Groceries, mobile phone parts and daily necessities; the second floor offers clothes, shoes, cases and bags; the third floor provides pearls, jades and artifacts; the forth floor sells the high-end jewellery. Check out Hongqiao Pearl Market for more information.
Location: 9 Tiantan Donglu, Dongcheng District (just opposite the east gate of Temple of Heaven) 地址：东城区天坛东路9号 Tel: 6711-8984
Opening Hours: 8:30am-7pm Subway: take Subway Line 5 and get off at the station of Tiantandongmen ( East Gate of Temple of Heaven 天坛东门). Then walk to the north you will see the market. Take bus: 39, 43, 60, 116, 610
Top 5: Liulichang Antique Street 琉璃厂
Brief introduction: On both sides of the street there are about 100 storefronts and vendors’ stalls selling collectibles and art supplies, including woodblock prints, copies of famous calligraphy, historic paintings (reproductions) and more.
Rongbaozhai is one of Beijing’s top art shops and well worth browsing, actually Rongbaozhai is located on the west section of Liulichang Street. To get to Liulichang Xijie ( the west section of Liulichang Street) on your right side, you have to across the main street.
Rongbaozhai’s business scope is very wide, ranging from ink, paper and inkstone, to fan albums; from painting and seal cutting to mounting a picture scroll, almost everything from ordinary people to cultural celebrities, all of them are enthusiastic customers of Rongbaozhai.
Liulichang Antique Street
Location: Liulichang Street, Xicheng District; 地址：西城区琉璃厂 Opening Hours: 8:30am-7pm Subway: take subway line 2 and get off at the station of Hepingmen （和平门), and exit from the Exit C2 (check old Beijing Walking Tour for more information.) Bus No.s 6, 14, 15, 25, 50, 53, 57, 102 and 105.
Top 6: Shilihe House Building Materials City 十里河家居建材城
Are you going to upgrade your home in Beijing? No matter you are a do-it-yourselfer or would like outsource your home decor, Beijing Shilihe Household Building Materials City is your one-stop market.
Though its Chinese name “City” suggests its expansiveness, the market is less a city than a street, a household building materials commercial street. It is the largest home improvement market in Beijing, similar to a cluster of Home Depot stores in the States or Canada as well.
Getting there is just a breeze. It is located in the southeast corner of the Third Ring Road in Beijing. Take subway line 10 ( or Line 14 anf 17 ) and get off at the station of Shilihe Zhan ( 十里河站）and exit at Exit K2 or J , you will be on the market street ( located at 100 meters east of Shilihe Bridge, East Third Ring Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 北京市朝阳区东三环十里河桥东100米 (十号地铁K2出口).
Lights and Lighting Section of Shilihe House Building Materials City
A lights decoration store in the market
Location: 100 meters east of Shilihe Bridge, East Third Ring Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 北京市朝阳区东三环十里河桥东100米 (十号地铁K2出口） Take subway line 10 ( or Line 14 anf 17 ) and get off at the station of Shilihe Zhan ( 十里河站）and exit at Exit K2 or J . Then walk along Dayangfang Road (大羊坊路）, then you will see the a group of buildings for all the stuff you will need. For more information, please click: Beijing Shilinhe Household Building Materials City.
Top 7 Sanyuanli Market （Food & Produce）三源里菜市场
Sanyuanli Market is located in Shunyuanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing. The market was built in October 1992, with a business area of 1560 square meters and 139 booths, selling vegetables, fruits, fresh meat, aquatic products, non-staple food seasonings, grain and oil, pasta tea, general merchandise and daily necessities. The market is a standardized community vegetable market of Beijing.
Fresh Produce in Sanyuanli Market
Sanyuanli Market has become the food and produce shopping channel for more than 10,000 households and 30,000 residents in Xinyuanli, Sanyuanli and Shunyuanli communities, as well as the surrounding hotels and restaurants. Guests from foreign embassies, hotels and foreign-related enterprises also frequently patronize this market.
ADD: Left side of Building 2, Shunyuanli, Ease Third Ring Road, Beijing BUS: 403,300/YUNTONG104 at Sanyuanqiao Station Subway: Line 10 Liangmaqiao Station
Top 8: Baoguosi Culture Market 报国寺文化市场
The old open-air Baoguosi Culture Market is closed. But the marekt is there keeping some of its delicate indoor markets. Today Baoguosi Cultural Market is still a cultural market based on Chinese books, stamps and coins. So you still can see some quiet and lively antique trade business going on inside the market ( indoor buildings ).
Brief introduction: “Baoguosi” means Baoguo Temple ( Serving the country Temple ). It was first constructed in the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) in the southern part of downtown Beijing. Baoguo Si was a Buddhist temple. The main hall of the temple has been now transformed into a coin hall, a book and newspaper hall, a ticket and certificate hall, a comic book hall, etc.
Baoguosi Cultural Market
Top 9: Yandai Xiejie Market 烟袋斜街
In Beijing, there still exist some places where you can see the old streets, typical Northern Chinese buildings and authentic Beijing folk culture despite of the fast pace of the local urbanization and gentrification.
Yandai Xiejie ( or Yandai Byway or Old Pipe Street 烟袋斜街) is one of such old commercial streets that showcase Beijing’s past. Yandai Byway was originally formed in Yuan Dynasty (1271 – 1368) and further developed and reached its height in late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Yandai, literally “Smoking Pipes”, was once lined up with many shops selling smoking pipes, hence the name of Yandai.
Silk Blouses and silk clothes for ladies
Today the general outline of the byway is still intact with many buildings sticking to their originality – shop front residence. Beside keeping the tradition of selling smoking pipes, antiques and jade, the lean street also sells silk, tea, Beijing snacks,etc. There are trendy bars and small eateries on the street.
Location： The 232-meter-long market street is located about 50 meters south of Drum Tower. For more information, please check out How to Visit Yandai Xiejie.
Top 10 Nanluoguxiang Hutong 南锣鼓巷
Now almost every Beijing first-time visitor wants to be lost in the maze of Nanluoguxiang hutong teemed with side lanes. People want to be lost in the past, in the tradition, in the passing passengers, in a fad and in the future. Time is flying here and getting older.
Vendors at Nanluoguxiang Hutong
The 786-meter long south-north Nanluoguxiang Hutong is lined with numerous trendy bars, yummy restaurants, unique hostels, lively themed stores and itinerant vendors.
Nanluoguxiang is easily accessible by Subway Line 6 and get off at the station of Nanluoguxiang. Then enter the south entrance to Nanluoguxiang and exit from its north. For more information, please check out How to visit Nanluoguxiang.
The markets below have been either closed or moved somewhere else due to Beijing urban development:
( Closed) Important Notice: The vendors have evacuated from the market and settled elsewhere. No More!
This huge market, oft-lauded as the largest clothing market north of Yangtze River in China.
It is located on Beijing’s south axis road starting from Muxiyuan (木樨园) on the south third ring road in the north to the northern bank of Liangshui River (凉水河北岸) , about 7 km south of Tiananmen Square.
The market is composed of 24 comprehensive markets covering clothing, shoes, hats as well as food, antiques and paintings jewelry, cultural and creative products. The most well-known markets include Dahongmen Clothing City (大红门服装城) and Dahongmen Shoes City (大红门鞋城).
Address: 15 Yongnan Road (south of Dahongmen Birdge ), Fengtai District Chinese Add: 北京市丰台区永南路15号(大红门桥南) Contact: 67226658
Business Hours: Dahongmen Early Morning Market (大红门早市)：4:30 am – 10:00 am Dahongmen Clothing Wholesale Market (大红门服装批发市场) : 9:00am – 5:00 pm Tianya Clothing Plaza (天雅服装大厦) : 9:00 am – 5:00pm Jingwen Clothing Market (京温服装市场)：9:00 am – 5:00pm Dahongmen Shoes City (大红门鞋城)：7:00 am – 4:00pm
Beijing Tianyi Small Commodities Wholesale Market 北京天意小商品批发市场( Closed)
(permanently closed and removed) Beijing Tianyi Market has over 2000 suppliers from all over China with over 60,000 small products.
The market has a business area of 11000 square meters with 20 business halls and 1550 booths.
The market can almost meet your need for some cheap accessories. It is better to buy large quantities, let’ s say 10 pieces and it is easy to bargain in bulk-buy. The market sells everything such as hairstyles, electronics, souvenirs, toys, Jewels, door keys, bags, tissues, clothes, cuddly toys, cosmetics, plants, shoes, phone accessories, office supplies, bookshops, school supplies and many more!!
Business Hour: 7:30am – 5:30pm Add: No. 259, Fuchengmen Outer Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, China, 100037 中国北京市西城区阜成门外大街259号 邮政编码: 100037 Subway line 2: Take subway line 2 and get off at the station of “Fuchengmen station”(阜成门), exit from Exit A, then walk westward along Fuchengmen Outer Street (阜成门外大街) for about 1.2 km, coming across 2 traffic lights, you will see the market on your right side ( No.259).
Zoo Market 动物园服装批发市场 ( Closed & Moved)
Important Notice: The vendors have evacuated from the market and settled elsewhere. No More!
Brief introduction: This is a huge wholesale market group which is composed of seven markets. Beijing Zoo Market is mainly composed of 7 sub-markets: 1) 金开利德 (Jinkaili) 2) 天乐宫 (Tianlegong) 3) 天皓城 (Tianhaocheng) 4) 东鼎 (Dongding) 5) 聚龙 (Julong) 6) 世纪天乐 (Shijitianle) 7) 众合 (Hezhong).
And the most popular ones are Julong, Tianlegong and Shiji Tianle.Buy them here for half-price but be geared up for bargaining hard or buy in volume.
Everything is so cheap and so plentiful here!! Anywhere from 10-50 RMB for shirts, tops, jeans, pants, skirts, everything. Jewelry for about 10-15RMB. In some places they can be more expensive, but about 90% are the cheap prices listed above.
Weekday mornings are the best time to come and be prepared to spend a few hours walking around. There are also various places to eat in the area: KFC and McDonalds, Yonghe Soy Milk, Pizza Hut, Yoshinoya, Dairy Queen, A&W, Mexican Restaurant …
Location: Around Beijing Zoo, Xizhimen Waidajie, Xicheng District Tel: 010-68312001
Opening Hours: 5:00am – 3:00pm Subway: Take Subway Line 4, get off at Beijing Zoo Station ( 动物园）and exit from Exit D Public Transport: Bus No.s 7, 27, 103, 105 and 111.206, 209, 319, 334, 347, 360, 362, 534, 601, 632, 634, 697, 714, 808, 814, 特4, Yuntong 104, Yuntong 105, Yuntong 106 or Yuntong 205 and get off at Beijing Zoo Station.
Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Beijing guided tours:
Are you thinking of planning a Beijing subway tour, and visiting Beijing by using the rapid transit rail network? The subway is the fastest, cheapest way around Beijing in comparison with Beijing taxis and easier to manage than the daunting Beijing public buses.
Below are some practical tips on how to take the subway in Beijing:
1. Subway fare in Beijing
Ticket fare: within 6 km: 3 yuan 6 -12 km: 4 yuan 12 -22 km: 5 yuan 22 – 32 km: 6 yuan 32 km up : extra 1 yuan for extra 20km
Beijing airport express trains: RMB25. Children below 1.3 metres in height enjoy free rides accompanied by a paying adult.
Note: If you stay in Beijing for quite a few days, or want to have more transport convenience when you traveling Beijing, you are highly recommended to buy a Beijing bus IC card, a kind of transportation smart card. Basically you are eligible for 10% discounts using “Yikatong” to pay for subway and buses.
A bus IC Card can be also used to pay for Beijing taxi, Beijing subway and S trains to Badaling Great Wall. The official name of the IC card is called “Yikatong”, which means “one card pass” in Chinese, similar to Hong Kong’s Octopus card, Singapore’s EZ-Link, or the Oyster Card used by TfL in London in United Kingdom.
More information on “Yikatong” card: 1. Par value RMB100.00 ( including RMB20.00 deposit ) 2. When you leave Beijing or don’t want to use the card anymore, you can return it to places which are appointed by Beijing Municipal Administration and Communications Card Co. Ltd. Then they will refund you RMB20.00 if your card is not damaged. 3. You could refill the bus IC card from over 700 places including the ticket counters at Beijing subway stations, railway stations, most post offices, big supermarkets and so on. 4. Yikatong Service phone number: 88087733 www.bjsuperpass.com （mainly in Chinese).
2. Find a latest Beijing Subway map
Try to find a latest Beijing subway map, physical or online. Beijing subway is on a constant change. Very often either online subway maps or ordinary maps are hard to catch up with the latest version of Beijing subway.
3. Basic information on the subway lines in Beijing
Try to locate your hotel, attractions and your business places in Beijing with the help of Beijing subway lines.
Subway Lines serving Beijing urban area
Subway Line 1: a straight east-west line under Chang’an Avenue passing Tiananmen Square, dividing the city into two parts – north and south. Line 1 links major commercial centres – Beijing CBD, Dongdan, Wangfujing, Xidan and Financial Street.
Subway Line 5: one of straight north-south lines, but mainly running just east of the city centre. It has some important stops such as the Temple of Earth, Lama Temple, Dongdan and the Temple of Heaven.
Subway Line 6: Running between Haidian Wuluju (Haidian) and Caofang (Chaoyang)Line 8: Phase I (Olympic Branch Line) branches off Baitucheng Stop of Line 10 with three stops in the Olympic Green.
Subway Line 9: Running between National Library (Haidian) and Guogongzhuang (Fengtai)
Subway Line 10: an inverted L-shaped line running east-west. Starting from the west, it runs along the Yuan dynasty city wall in the north, passing by the south of the Olympic Green and runs south at Sanyuanqiao, following the eastern 3rd Ring Road passing through the embassy district and Beijing CBD.
Subway Lines serving Beijing suburbs
Subway Line 13: an arcs line running the suburbs north of the city and takes commuters to Xizhimen and Dongzhimen where interchange for Line 2.
Subway Line 14: Running between Zhangguozhuang (Fengtai) and Xiju (Fengtai)
Subway Line 15: extended from the Line 13 at Wangjing West, then running northeast to suburban Shunyi District.
Batong Line: extended from Line 1, running eastward from Sihui to suburban Tongzhou District.
Changping Line: extended from Line 13 at Xi’erqi, running north to suburban Changping District.
Daxing Line: branches off Line 4 south to suburban Daxing District.
Fangshan Line: is at the moment unconnected with the main lines in Beijing, standing alone line in southwest Beijing that linking Dabaotai in Fengtai District with suburban Fangshan District.
Yizhuang Line: extended from Line 5’s southern terminus to the Yizhuang Economic & Technological Development Zone in the southeastern suburbs.
Airport Express: linking the Beijing Capital International Airport ( 25 km northeast of the city), with Line 10 at Sanyuanqiao and Lines 2 and 13 at Dongzhimen.
Beijing Subway Map
Beijing Subway Map
4. Beijing Subway Operation Hours
The first trains depart terminals at around 5:00 am and the last leave at around 11:00 pm. The Airport Express train starts at around 6:00am and ends at 10:30 pm.
5. Get to the Subway Station
Make sure you are heading to the closest station. The subway signs are easily to be recognized.
Beijing Subway Sign
Subway Station Exterior
Subway Station Exterior
6. Buy a subway ticket
You may buy a single-ride ticket or use a Beijing Transportation (Yikatong) Card, similar to the oyster cards in UK.
If you stay in Beijing for a longer period, it is advisable to buy Yikatong card.1) You may buy a single ride ticket through automated machines which take coins and small bills. or you may buy it at the ticketing windows.
A single ride Electronic ticket
(2)If you stay in Beijing for quite a few days, or want to save money when you traveling Beijing by subway or bus, you are highly recommended to buy a Beijing bus IC card, a kind of transportation smart card. A bus IC Card can be also used to pay for taxi or subway.
The correct name of the IC card is called “Yikatong”, which means “one card pass” in Chinese, similar to Hong Kong’s Octopus card, Singapore’s EZ-Link, or the Oyster Card used by TfL in London in United Kingdom.
7. Get to the platform and choose the right track
Swipe the card across the sensor, or insert the ticket in the turnstile to enter through the fare gate.
Basically, there are two tracks for trains running for opposite directions, so you should follow the sign and choose the correct side of the tracks.
Waiting on the platform
8. Inside the Trains and transfer
Once taking the subway, the display screen inside the each car of the train will show arrival times, destination information, and show short television programs.
If you want to transfer, just look for a sign that says “Transfer” and follow the directional arrow on the sign.
9. Leave the subway station
After you leave the train, you are required to insert the single-ride electronic ticket in the turnstile, or swipe the transportation card over the sensor.Next, look for the signs which show how to exit the station.
Usually, there are four exits for each station; each exit leads to a different direction. Find the direction of your destination and choose the right exit to get out of the station.
10. Try to avoid taking subway in rush hours
You’d better avoid taking subway during rush hours. Beijing Rush Hours: 07:00am – 09:00am), and 6:00pm – 08:00pm.
Beijing subway is getting extremely crowded at rush hours
Beijing is a very overcrowded city. Beijing subway is getting extremely crowded at rush hours.
11. Important Places accessed by subway
1) Beijing South Railway station: Subway Line 4 2) Beijing West Railway Station: Subway Line 9 3) Beijing North railway Station: Subway line 2, 4 and 10 4) Beijing Railway Station: Subway line 2 5) Beijing Capital Airport: Express Train + Subway Line 2 6) Summer Palace: Subway line 4 and 10 7) Badaling Great Wall: S Trains ( from Huangtudian Railway Station ) Line 8 or 13 8) Temple of Heaven: Subway Line 5 9) Tiananmen ( Forbidden City): Subway Line 1 10) Lama Temple: Subway Line 5 11) Olympic Park: subway 8
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