Beijing Airport Guide (PEK & PKX)

Beijing has two major international airports, and they sit on opposite sides of the city. Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK, 北京首都国际机场, Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng) is northeast of the center and has been the main hub for decades. Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX, 北京大兴国际机场, Běijīng Dàxīng Guójì Jīchǎng) opened in 2019 about 46km south of Tiananmen, near the border with Hebei province. The first thing to confirm before you do anything else is which airport you're actually flying into or out of — they're roughly 67km apart, and getting between them takes 90 minutes or more. This guide covers transport into the city, transferring between terminals, the express trains, and the practical stuff that trips people up: payments, transit visas, and luggage.

PEK vs PKX: Which Airport Are You At?

Your airline and ticket decide this, but it helps to know the general pattern. After a major reshuffle in 2019, many SkyTeam and oneworld carriers moved their Beijing operations from Capital to Daxing. Capital (PEK) remains the home of Air China and most Star Alliance partners. Daxing (PKX) picked up China Southern, China Eastern, and a long list of foreign carriers.

Don't assume based on your last trip — airlines have shifted routes more than once. Check the airport code on your booking (PEK or PKX) and the terminal printed on your boarding pass. Confusing the two is the single most expensive mistake you can make here, because there's no quick way to correct it on the day of travel.

Getting from Capital Airport (PEK) to the City

Capital has three terminals. T3 is the largest and newest (opened 2008) and handles Air China and international flights; T2 handles Hainan Airlines and most SkyTeam carriers. You'll choose your transport based on how much luggage you have, what time it is, and where in the city you're headed.

Capital Airport Express Train

This is the fastest reliable option and immune to traffic. The Capital Airport Express (首都机场线, Shǒudū Jīchǎng Xiàn) is a dedicated rail line, separate from the regular metro fare system. A single ride costs ¥25 per person no matter which stations you use, and it does not count toward any unlimited-ride transit pass.

The line stops at T3, T2, Sanyuanqiao, Dongzhimen, and Beixinqiao. The transfer points matter:

• Sanyuanqiao — transfer to Metro Line 10 and Line 12
• Dongzhimen — transfer to Line 2 and Line 13
• Beixinqiao — transfer to Line 5

Trip time is roughly 20 minutes from T3 to Dongzhimen, and around 30–40 minutes total to reach the city center once you factor in a metro transfer. Trains run about every 10 minutes. First and last departures: from T3 around 6:22–22:52, from T2 around 6:36–23:10; trains toward the airport from Dongzhimen run roughly 6:00–22:30. To board, the platform is on level B2 of the T2 parking structure, or level 2 of the T3 parking structure. Full timetables are on the official airport site.

Taxi from Capital Airport

Official metered taxis queue at marked ranks — at T2, head to the center lane outside doors 5–9 on the arrivals level; at T3, the taxi pick-up area is on level B1. Per the airport's official rate card, the meter starts at ¥13 (covers the first 3km), then ¥2.3 per kilometer, plus a ¥1 fuel surcharge per trip. Beyond 15km one-way, each kilometer adds a 50% surcharge; between 23:00 and 05:00 each kilometer adds 20%. Slow traffic and waiting (under 12 km/h) is billed at one extra kilometer per five minutes — two kilometers during rush hours (7–9am, 5–7pm).

A ride to central Beijing usually lands somewhere in the ¥100–130 range depending on traffic and destination. Always use the official rank and insist the driver runs the meter. If you'd rather pre-book or use a ride-hailing app, see our guide to taxis and ride-hailing in China.

Airport Shuttle Buses (PEK)

Capital runs city shuttle buses with tiered fares across eight price bands: ¥15/20/25/30/35/50/55/80, depending on distance. Buy tickets at the ticket counter outside door 11 on the T2 arrivals level, or inside door 1 on the T3 arrivals level. The city bus service hotline is 010-64378900 and the intercity bus hotline is 010-64558718. Buses are a decent option if a route happens to drop you near your hotel, but for most travelers the train plus a short taxi is faster.

Getting from Daxing Airport (PKX) to the City

Daxing is a single enormous terminal in a phoenix shape, with everything radiating from a central hub — you'll never walk more than about 8 minutes from the center to any gate. The trade-off is distance from the city. Because it's so far south, your choice of transport matters more here than at Capital.

Daxing Airport Express Train

The Daxing Airport Express (大兴机场线, Dàxīng Jīchǎng Xiàn) is the fastest way north. It makes only three stops: Daxing Airport, Daxing Xincheng, and Caoqiao. The headline number is the speed — Daxing Airport to Caoqiao in just 19 minutes. At Caoqiao you transfer to Metro Line 10 or Line 19 to reach the rest of the city.

Fares depend on where you get off: ¥35 to Caoqiao, ¥25 to Daxing Xincheng. There's a business-class seat for ¥50 end-to-end, and a combined air-rail ticket priced at 80% of the single fare. The boarding platform is on level B1 of the terminal — about a 75-meter walk from the gates.

Operating hours (official): from Caoqiao toward the airport roughly 05:41–22:30 (the first train was moved earlier to around 5:30); from the airport toward Caoqiao 06:00–23:00, extended to 23:30 on Sundays. Trains run frequently — no more than about every 9 minutes during the day. The express info line is 010-87837266.

Jingxiong Intercity High-Speed Rail (PKX)

Daxing also has a high-speed rail station underneath it, on the Jingxiong line. Trains connect the airport with Beijing West Railway Station in roughly 20–28 minutes. There are around 37 services a day, with the first around 06:41 and the last around 21:34. A second-class seat runs about ¥30, first class about ¥48, business class about ¥90. This is a great option if your hotel is near Beijing West or you're connecting onward by another train.

Note that China's high-speed trains no longer use paper tickets — you board with your passport (the same document you booked under) and can print a reimbursement receipt from a machine if you need one. Booking for foreign passport holders has its quirks; check the official 12306 system or see our guide to booking train tickets.

Taxi and Shuttle Buses (PKX)

Taxis at Daxing use the same base rate as Capital: ¥13 for the first 3km, ¥2.3/km after, plus a ¥1 fuel surcharge, with a 20% night surcharge between 23:00 and 05:00. Taxis queue at the curb on level 1 (F1). Pay attention to the signs — pick-up areas are split by direction, with Beijing-bound taxis on the east and west sides and Hebei-bound vehicles in the middle. A taxi into central Beijing is a long ride and will cost considerably more than from Capital, simply because of distance.

City shuttle buses from Daxing have a flat fare of ¥40, with around six routes (five daytime, one overnight). Daytime buses run toward the airport roughly 5:00–20:30 and back into the city roughly 7:30–23:00; the overnight line runs from 23:30 until the last flight. They depart about every 30 minutes. City buses board inside door 20 on the east side of level 1; intercity buses board inside door 15 on the west side. The passenger info line is 010-81698565.

Transferring Between Terminals and Airports

Inside Capital Airport (PEK)

T3 is split into three sub-areas — T3-C, T3-D, and T3-E — with international flights operating from T3-E. An automated people mover (APM) runs the roughly 2km between T3-C and T3-E, taking 2–5 minutes. Between T2 and T3 (about 6.4km apart) there's a free shuttle bus. If you have a tight connection that involves changing terminals, give yourself plenty of margin; the official shuttle frequency isn't published, so don't assume one is waiting.

Between PEK and PKX

If your itinerary somehow lands you at one airport and departs from the other, treat it as a separate cross-city journey, not a transfer. The two are about 67km apart. Rough comparison:

• Taxi: ~90 minutes, around ¥250
• Airport shuttle bus (a direct inter-airport line exists): ~90 minutes, ¥40
• Metro: ~110 minutes with three lines — Daxing Express to Caoqiao → Line 10 to Sanyuanqiao → Capital Airport Express to T2/T3, totaling roughly ¥65

If you're connecting between flights at the two airports, budget at least half a day and don't cut it close.

Visa-Free Transit Through Beijing

Both Beijing airports are approved ports for China's transit visa exemptions, which are genuinely useful if Beijing is a stopover rather than your final destination.

There are two schemes worth knowing. The 24-hour direct transit exemption applies to travelers of all nationalities at every open port, as long as you hold a valid travel document and an onward ticket to a third country/region and stay inside the port's restricted area. The 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit is the big one: as of late 2024, China consolidated the older 72/144-hour policies into a single 240-hour window for eligible nationalities (55 countries at the time of writing). You can enter at one of 60 ports across 24 provinces and regions, and Beijing's two airports both qualify. For Beijing, you're allowed to stay and travel within the permitted region, including across provincial lines.

To use the 240-hour policy, you need:

• A passport valid for at least 3 more months
• A confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region, with a fixed date and seat, within 240 hours
• A completed Arrival Card for Temporary Entry Foreigners (filled at the border)
• To register your accommodation within 24 hours of entry

The clock starts at 00:00 the day after you enter. Because eligible nationalities and conditions do change, confirm the current rules with the National Immigration Administration before you fly. Their English-language pages cover the transit visa-free policies and the 240-hour eligible ports and conditions. You can also call the 24-hour multilingual hotline at +86-12367 (Mandarin, Cantonese, English, Russian, Japanese, Korean). For the full picture, see our guide to visa-free and transit policies.

Payments, Money, and Transit Cards

Almost everything in China runs on mobile payments, and the airport is your first encounter with this. The good news is that both Alipay (支付宝, Zhīfùbǎo) and WeChat Pay (微信支付, Wēixìn Zhīfù) now let foreign visitors link an overseas Visa, Mastercard, or JCB card after verifying your identity with your passport. Alipay tends to be the easier of the two to set up as a tourist. It's worth doing this before you arrive — see our guide to using Alipay with foreign cards.

That said, cash still works widely, and you won't be stranded if your phone setup fails. Between the two airports there are about 5 bank branches, 7 staffed currency-exchange counters, 24 ATMs, and a self-service exchange machine, per China's government information service. Most airport shops accept foreign bank cards directly.

For getting around the city on metro and bus, you have two card options:

• Beijing Transit Card (Yikatong, 一卡通) — a ¥20 deposit plus a minimum ¥20 top-up. Works on metro, buses, some taxis, and convenience stores. Bus rides get a 50% discount within the city, though metro and taxi don't. Both the deposit and remaining balance are refundable, but only in person within Beijing — bring your passport.
• BEIJING PASS — a tourist-oriented card issued at Capital Airport, rechargeable, and usable for public transit in 300+ Chinese cities. Note this one is not refundable — you can only recover the remaining balance (when it's ≤¥200), not the card-purchase fee.

Planning metro routes once you're in town is easier with an offline map. For mapping out metro transfers and building a day-by-day plan across major cities, the WaysChina app has offline metro maps and a built-in trip planner.

Airport Facilities and Layout

At Daxing, the vertical layout is worth memorizing because everything stacks in one building: F1 is international arrivals and buses; F2 is domestic arrivals plus ride-hailing and taxi pick-up; F3 is domestic check-in and boarding; F4 is the main domestic/international check-in hall and international boarding; F5 has dining and an observation area; B1 is the rail concourse and some domestic check-in; B2 is the rail platform. The metro station is about a 75-meter walk from the terminal, and the high-speed rail platform about 150 meters.

At Capital, the three terminals function as nearly separate airports, so always know your terminal before you arrive. Parking, if you're being dropped off or picked up, is free for the first 15 minutes at both airports; overnight long-term parking caps at ¥80 per day.

A few things we couldn't verify against official sources, so confirm on the ground: exact locations and fees for left-luggage/baggage storage, the VAT departure tax-refund counters for tourists, and current lounge brands and prices. If you need any of these, allow extra time to ask at an information desk. Capital's general service hotline is 010-96158.

Where to Stay Near the Airports

If you have an early flight or a late arrival, sleeping near the airport saves a stressful cross-city dash. Capital has several hotels within a short shuttle ride, and Daxing has on-site and nearby options that are handy given how far the airport sits from town. You can compare airport-area hotels on Booking Com. For the broader picture on hotels and the mandatory check-in registration that applies to all foreign guests, see our guide to booking hotels and registration rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Beijing airport is closer to the city?

Capital (PEK) is closer — about 25km northeast of the center, versus Daxing (PKX) at about 46km south. But "closer" doesn't always mean faster, because the Daxing Express train is very quick to Caoqiao.

What's the cheapest way into the city?

The airport express trains: ¥25 from Capital, ¥35 from Daxing to Caoqiao, plus a metro transfer. Shuttle buses can be cheaper on some Capital routes (from ¥15) but are slower and less flexible.

Can I use the 240-hour transit visa at both airports?

Yes. Both Capital and Daxing are approved ports for the 240-hour visa-free transit, provided you meet the conditions — chiefly an onward ticket to a third country within 240 hours. Verify your nationality is eligible before you travel.

How long should I leave to transfer between PEK and PKX?

At least half a day. The two airports are 67km apart and the trip takes 90 minutes or more by taxi, and close to two hours by metro. This is a cross-city journey, not a connection.

Do I need cash, or is mobile payment enough?

Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with your foreign card before you go and you'll be fine almost everywhere. Carry some cash as a backup — it's still accepted, and the airports have ATMs and exchange counters.

Quick Summary

Confirm your airport code (PEK or PKX) and terminal before anything else — they're far apart and easy to mix up. From Capital, the ¥25 Airport Express plus a metro transfer is the fastest reliable route; a metered taxi runs about ¥100–130. From Daxing, the ¥35 Express reaches Caoqiao in 19 minutes, or take the high-speed train to Beijing West in under half an hour. Both airports qualify for China's transit visa exemptions, including the 240-hour scheme, if Beijing is a stopover. Set up Alipay before you arrive, keep some cash, and grab a transit card for the regular metro and buses. Always use official taxi ranks and ignore terminal touts. Next steps: lock in your city transport plan and your hotel's check-in registration details before you land.

Last updated: June 2026