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When I arrived in China for the first time, my first thought was “Welp, I have no idea how to navigate Beijing”.
It felt small but it also felt big. A few times, my eyes were bigger than my legs and I would walk somewhere that was WAY too far. How would I know….it looked close.
When I walked down into the metro/subway/train it was more intimidating than most other countries I have been. The kiosks looked like a ghost town and there was basically airport security. So naturally, the first couple places I went, I took Didi (as mentioned in my Great Wall of China Guide).
After playing around on Alipay I noticed “Transport” was there right on the app. Clicked it, and there was a QR code. Is it really this easy?
I proceeded underground, put my bag through the x-ray, walked by 9 security officers, collected my bag, and that was it. Alright….that wasn’t so hard. Then it became clear why the ticket kiosks had cobwebs on them.
You literally just scan your Alipay, take the train where you want, and scan when you leave. It’s the easiest transportation ever. I felt like an idiot after. EVERYTHING IS ON ALIPAY IN CHINA. Don’t overthink it.
Not only was it cheap but it was SPOTLESS. There were a lot of kids but nobody was running around with their head cut off, it was peaceful on most trains. I went to a few areas all around Beijing and they were all completely different from each other….which was interesting. Some spots were more traditional and some spots felt like the most modern place in the world, it’s a great city.
MY FAVORITE PART:
I was standing there waiting for the train…it pulls up, and I see “COOL CAR” and “COLD CAR” on the windows….wait. So you can ride in your preferred temperature? Yes. As someone who is always warm, this was a ridiculously cool thing to experience. I’m not sure if any other country does this, but it blew my mind.
As I’ve metioned in all my other China blogs, you will need a VPN to survive in China due to some restrictions. So I will share my NordVPN affiliate link so you can “doomscroll” Instagram while bored on the train.
After a few local beers and some soup, it was getting late. But nothing changed….Beijing felt like one of the safest cities I’ve ever been. Nobody will be nervous to take this metro at night, there are cameras everywhere and the people are so friendly.
Leaving Beijing?
Like most of Eastern World, trains run the show. If you hate dealing with airports just take a high speed train. Within the Alipay app (OBVIOUSLY) they actually recommend using Trip.com for high speed trains or flights within mainland China. (I added my affiliate link there if you have interest!) You can book hotels or anything else in China on there too, it’s very popular.
Don't Like The Subway?
If you don’t like the subway, you will not struggle at all. Within the Alipay app (DO YOU SEE THE TREND?) you will see the Didi App.
Didi is the Chinese version of Uber. It is connected to their public cabs as well, so you will likely get one of those. I’m not joking, once you get used to Alipay, you will hate “going back to normal”. There will be a language barrier in the cars 100%, so the apps make it easy.
Want Exercise?
If you want exercise or to take in the city, just be prepared. Everything is extremely walkable…it’s just BIG. I would look at the map and be like “oh ok that’s only 20 minutes” and then an hour would pass.
I’m not sure if I was in some type of Beijing limbo or not but it felt like I could not make any progress. Great sidewalks and streets though, don’t be alarmed, it was really nice walking here. This is my preffered method in most countries, if possible.
I hope this helped clear up any nervousness regarding Beijing transport, feel free to reach out if you are still confused!