Beijing Airports Guide: Capital (PEK) and Daxing (PKX) to the City

Beijing has two airports on opposite sides of the city. Capital (PEK) is the long-established hub to the northeast; Daxing (PKX) is the newer airport, far to the south. They're a long way from each other, and airlines split their Beijing flights between the two, so the first job is to read the airport code on your ticket — nothing else reliably tells you.

Capital Airport (PEK): express, buses, taxis

The Airport Express (首都机场线, Shǒudū Jīchǎngxiàn) is the way in. It has five stations: Terminal 3, Terminal 2, Sanyuanqiao, Dongzhimen and Beixinqiao. You board it in the Terminal 2 parking building at level B2, or in the Terminal 3 parking building at level 2 — follow the Airport Express signs from arrivals. At Sanyuanqiao you can change to Lines 10 and 12, at Dongzhimen to Lines 2 and 13, and at Beixinqiao to Line 5. The fare is a flat ¥25 whichever station you get on or off at, and trains run about every 10 minutes, from 06:22 to 22:52 out of Terminal 3 and 06:36 to 23:10 out of Terminal 2. Which station to get off at: Dongzhimen if you're staying anywhere inside the old city or on the Line 2 loop, Sanyuanqiao for Sanlitun, the embassy district and the Line 10 loop. From either, a taxi to a hotel in the center is a short ride. The airport's own Airport Express page has the timetable.

Airport buses cover routes across the city on a fare ladder with eight steps, from ¥15 up to ¥80 by stop; buy tickets at the desk outside door 11 on the ground floor of Terminal 2, or inside door 1 on the ground floor of Terminal 3. Intercity buses leave from a separate desk (Terminal 2 outside door 15, Terminal 3 inside door 11): Langfang for ¥50 and Tianjin for ¥120, both about two and a half hours, and you need your passport to buy a ticket. A city bus is worth it only when it stops next to your hotel — the route list is at the ticket desk; the express is more predictable.

Taxis leave from the official stand outside doors 5–9 on the ground floor of Terminal 2, in the middle lane, and from the taxi area on level B1 of Terminal 3. Ignore anyone inside the terminal offering a car. Beijing's meter starts at ¥13 for the first 3 km, then ¥2.3 per kilometer plus a ¥1 fuel surcharge per trip; the per-kilometer rate rises 50% for the part of a trip beyond 15 km, and 20% between 23:00 and 05:00. For a figure before you get in, price the trip in the DiDi app — see our DiDi guide — and show the driver the hotel name in Chinese.

Daxing Airport (PKX): the express, the intercity trains, buses, taxis

The Daxing Airport Express (大兴机场线, Dàxīng Jīchǎngxiàn) leaves from level B1 of the terminal and has three stations — Daxing Airport, Daxing Xincheng and Caoqiao — where you change to Lines 10 and 19. The fare is by distance: ¥10 up to 20 km, ¥25 for 20–30 km and ¥35 beyond, which makes the full run to Caoqiao ¥35; a business-class car is a flat ¥50, and an air-rail combo ticket for flight passengers is 20% off, one per passenger per flight, with the conditions on the official page below; you can stay in the paid area for up to 4 hours. Trains leave the airport from 06:00 to 23:00 (from Caoqiao toward the airport, 05:41 to 22:30), about every 9 minutes until 22:30 and every 15 minutes after that; the gates stop selling and checking tickets five minutes before the last train, so be on the platform ten minutes early. One thing to note for the way back: at Caoqiao you can check in for your flight, drop your bags and have them screened before you board the train, which turns the express into a proper city terminal. The full rules are on the Daxing Airport Express page.

Mainline trains. Daxing also has a mainline railway station under the terminal, with intercity trains to Beijing West; times and fares are on 12306, and it's worth a look if your hotel is near Beijing West station. For a foreign passport you'll use the manual channel at the gates, as on any Chinese train — see how to book China train tickets.

Airport buses to the city leave from the waiting area inside door 20 on the east side of the ground floor, with routes to Tongzhou, Zhongguancun, Fangshan, Yizhuang and Tiantongyuan, a line to Capital Airport, and two night lines; provincial buses leave from inside door 15 on the west side. Departure times and fares are posted at the ticket desk on the day.

Taxis use the official stand signed from arrivals, at the same city meter as above. Daxing is a long way out, so expect the beyond-15-km rate on much of the ride and price it in DiDi first; for most hotels the express plus a short taxi from Caoqiao is both cheaper and quicker than a taxi all the way.

Between the two airports

Avoid this connection if you can. If you can't, here's how. By rail: Daxing Express to Caoqiao, Line 10 around to Sanyuanqiao, then the Capital Airport Express — the two express lines share Line 10 as their link — for ¥35 plus a metro fare plus ¥25; allow at least two hours door to door with the changes. By bus: Daxing's city-bus routes include a Capital Airport line, from the waiting area inside door 20, with times at the desk; from Capital, reverse the rail route, or ask for the Daxing bus at the city-bus desk (Terminal 2 outside door 11, Terminal 3 inside door 1). By taxi: the meter, with the beyond-15-km rate applying to most of the trip — price it in DiDi, and with two or more people it's often the sensible option. A pre-booked car through Klook does the same trip at a price fixed in advance, which is worth it with a tight connection. Whichever you take, your bags have to be collected and re-checked, so treat a cross-airport connection as needing at least four hours between flights.

Landing late

The last Airport Express trains leave Capital at 22:52 from Terminal 3 and 23:10 from Terminal 2; the last Daxing Express leaves the airport at 23:00, with the gates closing five minutes before. After that, at Daxing there are two night bus lines — east to Sanyuanqiao and west to Yonghegong — from the city-bus area inside door 20; at Capital, whether a late bus is running is on the board at the ticket desk. The taxi stand is the fallback at both airports, with a 20% night surcharge per kilometer between 23:00 and 05:00 — a normal, metered surcharge, not a scam; every big Chinese city does the same (Shanghai's is 30% in the same hours). If you land after 1 am and fly out in the morning, an airport hotel wins: Booking Com lets you filter by distance to either airport.

Leaving: how early, and finding your terminal

Check-in closes earlier than you might expect: in Hainan Airlines' published list of cutoffs, domestic check-in at Beijing Capital closes 40 minutes before departure, and international flights typically close 60 minutes before; checking in online doesn't exempt you — you still need the boarding pass in hand before that cutoff. For Daxing, and for your own flight, the airline's app shows the exact time. Our timing: three hours before an international departure, 90 minutes before a domestic one with a bag to check, and add the ride out — the first Airport Express toward Capital leaves Dongzhimen at 06:00 and Sanyuanqiao at 06:04, and the first Daxing Express leaves Caoqiao at 05:41, so a dawn departure from either airport means a taxi or an airport hotel.

At Capital, check the terminal on your ticket: Terminals 2 and 3 are separate buildings served by different express stations, and moving between them means a shuttle, so allow 30 minutes if you arrive at the wrong one. Terminal 3 is enormous: international departures may involve a train ride inside the terminal after security, so follow the signs and don't linger at the shops. Daxing has a single terminal, which makes it the easier airport to leave from — and the Caoqiao city check-in means you can drop your bag in town and ride the express with nothing to carry. The rules once you're inside — liquids, power banks, baggage weights — are in domestic flights in China.

The short version

Capital, staying in the center or the east: Airport Express to Dongzhimen or Sanyuanqiao, then a short taxi. Daxing, staying anywhere south or central: Daxing Express to Caoqiao, then Line 10 or a taxi. Either airport, late at night or with heavy bags: the official taxi stand, priced in DiDi first. For the city once you're in, see the Beijing complete guide; for the other big hubs, airport-to-city transfers across China; and for the metro after you leave the express, our Beijing last-trains page.

Last updated: August 2026