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Getting Around in Beijing, a Mix of Skills and Patience

Beijing is huge and very spread out, much like most North American cities. Getting from point A to point B isn’t always easy: it’s hot and the streets are jam-packed.

Taxis are cheap and relatively straightforward if you don’t mind the driver smoking in the car and if you can speak Mandarin because there is no chance he will speak English. You used to be able to flag them just about anywhere, but I find they are harder to find now: the parking and pick up/drop off rules are tougher than before. Besides, you can get stuck in traffic, as happened to us on the way from the airport to the hotel.

The subway system is fast, reliable and cheap (tickets are only two yuan), although carts can be very crowded and there are few escalators so we had to carry the stroller up and down the stairs (yay, biceps workout!). Stops are announced in both Mandarin and English (probably a legacy of the 2008 Olympic Games) and trains are very clean compared to, let’s say, Paris.

Although I love riding bicycles, I wouldn’t try it in Beijing—being a pedestrian is challenging enough! Crossing streets invariably involves running across as cars typically speed up when they see people and red lights are just a suggestion to stop. I noticed not that many people bike anymore, people seem to like motorbikes best (and yes, they do ride on the sidewalk if they feel like it).

Parking Lot
Parking Lot
Cute Bike on Fuchengmen
Cute Bike on Fuchengmen
Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver
In a Taxi
In a Taxi
In a Taxi on ChangAn Jie Along Tiananmen Square
In a Taxi on ChangAn Jie Along Tiananmen Square
In a Taxi on ChangAn Jie Along Tiananmen Square
In a Taxi on ChangAn Jie Along Tiananmen Square
In a Taxi on ChangAn Jie Along Tiananmen Square
In a Taxi on ChangAn Jie Along Tiananmen Square
In a Taxi on ChangAn Jie Along Tiananmen Square
In a Taxi on ChangAn Jie Along Tiananmen Square
Beijing's Subway
Beijing’s Subway
Beijing's Subway
Beijing’s Subway
Beijing's Subway
Beijing’s Subway
KFC Ad on Beijing's Subway
KFC Ad on Beijing’s Subway
Beijing's Subway
Beijing’s Subway
Vending Machines in the Subway
Vending Machines in the Subway
Vending Machines in the Subway
Vending Machines in the Subway
Beijing's Subway
Beijing’s Subway
Beijing's Subway
Beijing’s Subway
Beijing's Subway
Beijing’s Subway
Beijing's Subway
Beijing’s Subway
Bicycles in Qianmen
Bicycles in Qianmen
Bicycles in Fuchengmen
Bicycles in Fuchengmen
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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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