| Compared to the mess that was Shanghai, Beijing | | | | was at the Raffles Hotel, so they charged us as |
| was a snap getting in and out of while not nearly as | | | | much to go 2 miles as we paid to 30 KM from the |
| pretty and modern as some of the other main | | | | airport to Tiananmen Square 30 Yuan. The Taxis |
| airports in China like the modern newer airports in | | | | were quite expensive compared to other parts of |
| Xiamen, Xian or Lhasa. The passport control was | | | | China, at over 100 Yuan for the 20 minute trip., the |
| busy and the customs are through, but they process | | | | cost was right around 100 Yuan with a foreign |
| you in a reasonable amount of time. The airport had | | | | exchange rate of 7.66 to the US dollar works out to |
| everything that you would expect, except for one | | | | around $13.00 |
| very notable flaw; there is no train into the city, | | | | As would be expected the largest presence at the |
| which is unfortunate. They do a have a expressway | | | | airport is the national carrier Air China, as Beijing only |
| that goes straight into Beijing from the airport, so | | | | has one airport, the regional carriers are all here as |
| the cheapest way to get to Beijing, if you are a | | | | well, such as Xiamen Air, Southern China Air, China |
| single, is to take the bus, the problem with this is | | | | Eastern, Hainan Airlines and Sichuan or SCAL as they |
| that you have no idea where they are dropping you | | | | are abbreviated. Beijing is serviced by all the big |
| off, so you are at the mercy of the taxis from there | | | | airlines as well from the west, like JAL United, |
| and they are quite mercenarily in the pricing if they | | | | American Cathy Pacific and many other international |
| know you don't know the lay of the land. The | | | | flights flying in and out of Beijing Central Airport. |
| terminus for the airport bus into Tiananmen Square | | | | |