Beijing Airport to Hotel New Otani

Old Jan 27th, 2003, 06:24 PM
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Beijing Airport to Hotel New Otani

Hi,
We will be arriving in Beijing at 6.30 am. What is the easiest and cost effective way to get to Hotel New Otani? As it is still winter there, we will be travelling with heavier luggages.
Last year, we paid 400 yuan for a taxi. How much should we pay if we were to get a taxi outside the terminals.
Is it safe to get a taxi outside the terminals as we do not want some nasty taxi drivers out there to grab our luggages and rip us of. This happen to us once in Rome airport and we don't want it to happen again.
We will definitely appreciate your help.
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Old Jan 27th, 2003, 07:40 PM
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400 yuan!? What were you thinking of?

Around Y80 should be plenty if you take a Y1.6 per km taxi from outside the terminal, plus Y10 for the expressway toll.

Just ignore anyone who approaches you in the terminal ("Hello! Taxi?") and make straight for the rank outside. There's a greater chance of being taken for a ride here than if you just flag down a taxi in the street--the bad eggs who look for the new and unwary like to wait here, but if you avoid the touts in the arrivals hall, nine times out of ten you'll be all right.

For extra security, if you feel you need it, look to check the meter isn't already running and that your view of it is not obscured in any way. If it is, choose another cab. On the dashboard on the passenger side a supervision card should be clearly displayed with a picture of the driver, his licence number, and a telephone number for complaints. If it's not there, choose another cab. Let one person sit in the front with a map of Beijing on her lap following the route (or pretending to). Any problem, point meaningfully at the supervision card, and write down the telephone number. But you shouldn't have problems, and the taxi driver should be happy with such a relatively long run. The taxi should head straight into town on the airport expressway, then take the fourth ring road (Si Huan) south, or go in further and take the third ring road (San Huan) south, finally turning right (west) straight along what will eventually be Jianguo Men Wai Dajie. Some may go to the third ring and cut down to the second, then head south, but it will be nearly 8am by then, so this would be very ill-advised, due to traffic. Slow traffic on Jianguo Men Wai may also add to your costs, but still not more than Y100 (in a Y1.6 cab).

Alternatively, take the 'A Line' airport coach to San Yuan Qiao (NOT the B or C line). This leaves every few minutes from outside the right hand end of the terminal. Y16 per person. Bags go on the front seats of the bus, and usually the conductor will help you put them there. At San Yuan Qiao you'll be dropped on the edge of the third ring, on the right side of the road (south bound), and can flag down a passing cab which may even cost you as little as Y1.2 per km, and you'll reach the New Otani, for Y12 to Y14, max Y20 if things are really slow. All in, for two people, the whole journey, say Y55, tops.

Peter N-H
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Old Jan 27th, 2003, 07:46 PM
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And I forgot. You'll need to know the hotel's Chinese name: Changfugong Fandian. Usually there's someone marshalling the taxis who will communicate this to the driver in tones he can understand, but if you're up for them, they're: Cha2ngfu4go1ng Fa4ndia4n.

Peter N-H
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Old Jan 27th, 2003, 07:54 PM
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Hi Peter,
Thank you very much for your detailed instructions. We really appreciate it very much. Have a nice day.
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Old Jan 28th, 2003, 09:29 AM
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The offer above is the equivalent of being accosted by a tout in the arrivals hall. Proper taxis are officially licensed and metered, and will cost half the price quoted. Take an official cab from the rank outside, start the meter, and pay what's on it.

Peter N-H
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Old Feb 13th, 2003, 10:33 PM
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Thanks Peter, we did exactly as you had advised and ignore all those touts in the arrival hall and even right in front of the taxi stand and head straight for a taxi that was in the queue. We were charged a total of 84 yuan (inclusive of 10 yuan toll charges), we gave the taxi 100 yuan and he was delighted.
Thanks for helping us to save 300 yuan!
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Old Feb 14th, 2003, 11:41 AM
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Anyone puzzled by the sequence of messages above should note that one has been taken out, posted by a Chinese taxi driver, offering to do an airport pick-up for nearly double the meter fare.

Just for the record, there's absolutely no need to tip the driver a sum equivalent to 1.5 usual hires, or indeed any sum at all. This is not a custom in China, and not expected by the driver, who, in this case, will have earned the equivalent of 1/3rd of an average day's income in a single trip, and thus be happy anyway.

Peter N-H
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