I'm taking a trip to Beijing, China in a few days, and I'm wondering if anyone has infromation on the best way to get to my hostel which is by the forbidden city. Some people say that you can take a Taxi, but I think that would be alot of money. I also read that they were planning on building a subway line that connects the downtown area with the airport for the Olympics. Does anyone know if this is true? and was if completed?

Thank You

There is a rail link from the airport that connects with the subway. This is a seperate ticket and I dont know the price but I am sure it would not be expensive.
Once you hit the subway it is a flat rate of 2CHY for each trip, regardless of distance or the number of connections you make. There are 2 stations near the Forbidden City at the Tiananmen SQ side.
The subway is east to navigate, clean and effecient. There are many English signs and station announcements are bi-lingual.

>the best way to get to my hostel which is by the forbidden city

Be more specific which direction your hostel locates from the forbidden city.

Forbidden city is huge, although not as big as Central park, New York.

Imagine you stay at the Plaza Hotel, New York, by the southern end of Central Park, and the cab driver drops you off at W 110 st, the northern entrance of Central Park.

You are in trouble...

As posted under the parallel thread:

A simple Google of "Beijing subway map" would get you a metro map answering much of what you ask, such as

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fileeijing-Subway.png

and a use of the search box at the top of this page would find you much earlier discussion on Beijing airport transport, such as:

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...eapest-way.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...telbeijing.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...mendations.cfm

with further links to information on airport bus routes, taxi prices, bus prices, etc.

(The Airport Express is ¥25.)

Thank you everyone for replying to my question. My main question was if I could get to the subway system from the airport. Sorry I should have been more clear. I Knew if I could just get to the subway system, I would be able to navigate towards my hostel. So thanks for your help; I know how to get there. I leave tomorrow. I will write a report on how it went when I get back to South Korea.
Thanks again
Gawr0008

Taxis, by the way, are not expensive. Depending where your hostel is I'd guess at maybe 150 yuan or US$22 (if that's out of date I hope someone with more recent experience will correct me). I've noticed that Beijing accommodations can employ some poetic licence when claiming proximity to the city centre and Forbidden City (a.k.a. Palace Museum).

If you do get a cab, take one from the official rank, and I recommend bringing the hostel's name and address written in Chinese characters with you to help the driver - he's most unlikely to speak English.

Around the terminal, decline all offers to help you with your baggage, and ignore anyone touting taxi services, as the cab is sure to be unlicensed. We found licensed cab drivers in Beijing and other Chinese cities to be overwhelmingly honest and efficient, but I found the hard way that it's asking too much to expect them to understand a foreigner's attempts to pronounce Mandarin phrases.