Are there independent airport shuttles which run from Beijing Airport to major hotels? Do major hotels operate their own shuttles? If there are no shuttles, what do you recommend? Thank you very much!

Yes, many of the major hotels in Beijing do operate their own airport shuttles-check by calling the 800 number if a major chain hotel, or going on the hotel's website, which should provide such information. Also, you can almost always arrange with the hotel to have them send a taxi or a car and driver to meet you at the airport. You should again be able to arrange this by calling a major hotel chain's toll number, or by getting the hotel's email address. You do not generally tip drivers in China, taxi or otherwise, unless they are helping you with baggage, in which case you would tip.

If there is no airport shuttle, and you don't arrange in advance for a driver, no problem. There's a taxi stand on the lower level; it's about a 30-40 minute ride into the center of Beijing, depending on traffic conditions. I believe an approx. fare now would be around RMB 90 or so, with highway toll-but you can ask at the airport info. desk when you get in and they'll be able to provide you with this information.

Two things to remember-virtually no Beijing taxi drivers speak or read English, so if you use a taxi, you'll have to have someone write out the name of your hotel to give to the driver. You should easily be able to do this while at the airport by again going to the airport information desk-they should also be able to make all transportation arrangements for you if you want.

Also, DO NOT pay any heed to those touts who may meet up with you in airport arrivals. Even though they may speak passingly good English, they are price-gougers who will charge you triple the going fare. The taxi stand is outside the terminal, and the driver needs to use the meter, and put down the flag to start the meter.

Either arranging your transportation in advance with the hotel, or using a taxi from the airport stand, you should have no problems whatsoever. I used taxis to take me all over Beijing, none of the drivers spoke English, but since I had the name of the restaurant or place I wanted to go written in Mandarin, that was all I needed

Spygirl, thank you SO much! Your message was not only helpful and informative, but very reassuring. I really appreciate your help. Thanks!

Hi

My wife and I went to Beijing a couple of years ago. We just used a regular taxi when we got there and that worked out pretty good. I have posted a trip report with some pictures on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com. Maybe you can find some useful information there.

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

Thanks, Gard! What a great website you have--your reports and pics are fascinating and informative. Thanks so much for sharing.

One more thing. The traffic condition of the city centre would be really bad during rush hour (morning and late afternoon). So, if you arrive Beijing during rush hour, arrange a car with the hotel or take the airport shuttle may not be a bad idea. It may not save time (for the traffic jam) but it could save a lot of taxi fee.

Last time, I left the airport at 5/6 pm. The airport shuttle took us 1.5 hour to the city centre, more than double the normal time. We felt very lucky without taking the taxi.

Thanks, r_shum, that's good to know about the traffic conditions during rush hour. Thanks, everyone, for all the helpful advice!

We paid Y90 from the airport to the city but only Y60 in the reverse direction. If the hotel arranges a car you may find that they charge a great deal more than this. Another poster advised being quoted over US$100, I think (over Y800) for a van for 4 people. This gives a whole new meaning to the term "highway robbery".

I wasn't aware that cabbies expected a tip for helping with your bags. That perhaps aside, the general rule in China is "no tipping".

Ignore anyone offering to wheel your bags around at the airport, too.

We were in Beijing last year and arranged a hotel car to pick us up at the airport since we were arriving at night after a long flight. While it was a nice service, it turned out to be much more expensive than a cab would have been. When we returned to the airport for departure, we took a cab from the hotel instead. As long as you have your hotel info written in Chinese (your guidebook may have this under the English name in the hotel listings), you will be fine. Cabs are clean and comfortable and the road from the airport well paved and smooth.

I know there are those that follow Peter N-H's edicts on this topic, and who honestly believe there is no tipping in China, but I think that's an outmoded 80's early 90's concept, which is not part of the modern China. You are expected to tip tour guides who work for western tour companies such as Smartours and Pacific Delight, and these guides work very hard and long hours attending to the needs of the group-I wouldn't even think of not tipping them or the bus drivers- it is expected, and to do otherwise is to be viewed as some stingy westerner. I also tipped whenever I felt it appropriate to do so-as a gesture of appreciation for assistance rendered-also at upscale western restaurants such as the Courtyard in Beijing and other places-somewhat along the lines I would tip in Europe-by rounding up the bill. I have no problem with this. If others don't wish to tip at all, for any services rendered, that's their business, but to say flatly that there is no tipping across the board in China is simply incorrect. There has always been tipping in China, way before Communism took over.

Spygirl, I did not say that "there is no tipping across the board in China", I said it was a general rule, and to my mind a general rule admits exceptions. Nor am I following Peter N-H's or anyone else's "edicts". I'm aware that tour operators tout for tips, but I'm also aware that most guides do very well out of commissions on the "shopping opportunities" they engineer, and in many cases earn a good deal more than teachers and doctors in China.

On the one occasion we took a guided tour nobody tipped the guide - very likely because most of our fellow tourists were Chinese nationals and knew the score. Should we have arrogantly broken ranks and topped up her already comfortable income?

That aside, there is certainly no expectation of a tip in restaurants or taxis. I could have mentioned that family members who've lived in China for some time have never heard of anyone tipping a cabbie for helping with bags, as it's regarded as part of the deal.

I could also make the observation that there's a general "no tipping" rule in my own country, which doesn't mean that it never happens, and indeed I've sometimes tipped for service above and beyond the call of duty; the key point though is that there's no expectation of a tip, and nobody will think you're a skinflint if you don't. This is because waiters etc. here must by law be paid a reasonable living wage.

As a result I'm culturally conditioned not to feel the need to tip except in certain circumstances, such as when I'm in the United States. Americans by contrast are culturally conditioned to tip, because many of their compatriots actually depend on tips to make a living income. It would be surprising therefore if they didn't feel some discomfort, even guilt, in not tipping, especially in countries we think of as "third world".

I can accept that tipping happens in China - but I have yet to see any evidence that the Chinese themselves practice it, and I do wonder whether it's the place of foreigners to introduce such a custom.

I posted a question re airport transfers about a week ago. St Regis in Beijing quoted me USD80 for a van (there's 5 of us with a couple of bags each) and the Portman Ritz Carlton in Shanghai at first offered us a 10-12 person van for USD108 but is now quoting us usd75. So as you can see there is room for negotiating. But I wouldn't have known it if not for the helpful hints I received via this site. Will probably grab a couple of cabs back to the airport in both places but just didn't want to bother with it after a long flight from SFO.

As for tipping, I think if a person does something exceptional or beyond the call of duty, a little tip is always appreciated. Tip, gratuity, palm oil, grease whatever you call it have always been practiced in China and elsewhere in the world, before and after Communism, and to think otherwise is naive.