How do I get around Beijing?

The subway is your primary mode. Beijing's network runs 27 lines with over 490 stations, which makes it larger than London's Underground. Fares start at 3 CNY ($0.44) for the first 6 km and top out around 9 CNY for cross-city trips like Dongcheng to the Summer Palace. Line 1 runs east-west under Chang'an Avenue and hits Tiananmen, Wangfujing, and the CBD. Line 2 traces the old city wall in a loop. Those two lines plus Line 5 (north-south) cover roughly 80% of what a first-time visitor needs. Trains run from about 05:30 to 22:30, though last-train times vary by station. Check the posted schedule at your stop, not a rule of thumb. The cars are clean, air-conditioned, and signed in both Chinese and English. Security screening at every entrance adds 2-5 minutes, so factor that in during morning rush between 07:30 and 09:00 when the platforms at Guomao and Xizhimen feel like a stadium emptying out.

DiDi fills the role that Uber or Grab play elsewhere, and it is the only ride-hailing app that matters in Beijing. Download it before you land. The app has an English interface, which is fortunate because most taxi drivers speak zero English and will wave you away if you can't show them the destination in Chinese characters. A DiDi from Capital Airport or Daxing Airport to Dongcheng runs 100-150 CNY ($15-22). Within the 3rd Ring Road, most rides land between 20-50 CNY. Surge pricing during evening rush at 17:00-19:00 around the 2nd Ring can push that up 1.5x. Regular taxis use a 13 CNY flagfall plus 2.3 CNY per km, which is fair if the meter is running. Mind you, hailing one on the street after 22:00 near Sanlitun or Gulou gets competitive. DiDi solves this. One warning. DiDi drivers will call you after accepting the ride and speak rapid Mandarin asking your exact location. Have your hotel's address in Chinese characters saved on your phone's lock screen.

Here's the thing that trips up every first-timer. Beijing runs almost entirely on mobile payment. Cash is technically legal tender, but in practice the 7-Eleven on Dongzhimen, the subway turnstile, and the jianbing vendor outside your hotel all expect you to scan a QR code. Since late 2023, Alipay accepts international Visa and Mastercard directly. Set it up before you fly. WeChat Pay has added similar foreign-card support, though linking tends to be flaky. With Alipay loaded, you tap into the subway without a physical card, pay DiDi, and buy a 4 CNY Tsingtao from a convenience store without fumbling for coins. If your phone dies, you're stuck. Carry a portable charger. The Yikatong transit card still works at subway gates for about 20 CNY deposit, but treat it as a backup, not a primary strategy in 2026.

Beijing is not a walking city. The blocks are enormous. What looks like 2 streets on the map might be a 25-minute slog along a 6-lane boulevard with no shade and crosswalks that take 3 full minutes to cycle through the green. The old hutong lanes around Nanluoguxiang and Wudaoying Hutong are the exception. These narrow alleys feel human-scaled, and you'll smell sesame oil from open kitchen doors and hear bicycle bells instead of traffic. Spend a morning on foot there. For everything else, shared bikes from Meituan or Hellobike cost 1.5 CNY per 15 minutes and sit on every sidewalk. They unlock through Alipay. In the June heat, when humidity currently sits around 93% and the air feels like warm soup, even a 10-minute walk to the next subway station will leave your shirt stuck to your back. Take the bike. Or take the subway one extra stop.