THE ROUGH GUIDE to - Parallels Plesk Panel

Airport buses (call T010/64594375 for
enquiries) leave from the Aviation Office at
15 Xi Chang’an Jie (every 15min 5.40am–
9pm), and from outside Dongzhimen
subway station (the stop is 50m east of the
big intersection). Another bus also leaves
from the east side of the Beijing Zhan station
concourse (every 30min 6am–7pm), but this
one is a little confusing to find as there are
so many buses in the area. Trips take an
hour (90min in rush hour), and cost ¥16.
By train
At Beijing main station, the ticketing office
for foreigners (5.30–7.30am, 8am–6.30pm
& 7–11pm) is on the northwest corner of
the first floor, at the back of the soft-seat
waiting room. You don’t have to buy your
tickets here, but the queues are much
shorter than at the main ticket booking
office on the west side of the station; you
may be asked to show your passport. At
Beijing West station, the foreigners’
ticketing office is on the second floor (24hr).
You can also book train tickets online at
Wwww.51piao.com/train or call the reservation
centre on T010/95105105 – your
ticket will be delivered for a ¥10 fee, or you
Travel agents
can pick it up at an agent near you. For
train timetables, check Wwww.chinahigh
lights.com/china-trains/index.htm.
By bus
You’re unlikely to encounter Beijing’s
fearsomely busy bus stations, unless you’re
going to Tianjin or Chendge, or as part of
an independent trip to the Great Wall.
There are many terminals for long-distance
buses, each one serving only a few destinations.
Stations are located on the city
outskirts, matching the destination’s
direction from the city.
Dongzhimen, on the northeast corner of
the Second Ring Road, is the largest bus
station, connected by subway to the rest of
the city; it handles services to and from
Shenyang and the rest of the northeast.
Deshengmen (Beijiao), the north station
serving Chengde and Datong, is just north
of the Second Ring Road (Erhuan Bei Lu);
it’s on the route of bus #328, which terminates
at Andingmen, from where you can
catch the subway’s loop line.
Zhaogongkou, on the south side of the
Third Ring Road (Nansanhuan Lu), serves
southern and eastern destinations including
There are plenty of travel agents in Beijing. The biggest (though certainly not the
best) is the state-run CITS. They offer tours of the city and surroundings, and
advance ticket booking within China for trains, planes and ferries, with a commission
of around ¥20 added to ticket prices. You’ll find CITS next to the Gloria Plaza Hotel at
28 Jianguomenwai Dajie (daily 8.30–11.30am & 1.30–4.30pm; T010/65050231); next
to the Parkson Building at 103 Fuxingmen Dajie (daily 9am–5pm; T010/66011122);
in the Beijing Hotel, 33 Dongchang’an Jie (T010/65120507); and at the New Century
Hotel (T010/68491426), opposite the zoo. The government-run CYTS (China Youth
Travel Service), at 3C Dongjiaominxiang (T010/65243388) is another large agent that
runs tours and sells tickets but, again, don’t expect too much from them.
Good, privately run alternatives include China Swan International Tours on
the 4th floor of the Longhui Building, 1 Nanguang Nanli, Dongsanhuan Lu
(T010/87372266, Wwww.china-swan.com) and BTG International at 206 Beijing
Tourism Building (T010/96906798, Wwww.btgtravel.com.cn); both are well geared
up for corporate groups.
For adventure travel within China, contact Wild China, Room 801, Oriental Place,
9 Dongfang Dong Lu, Dongsanhuan Bei Lu (T010/64656602, US Office T1-888/902-
8808; Wwww.wildchina.com). Beijing’s most unusual tour agency is Koryo Tours, at
27 Beisanlitun Nan (East Courtyard), Chaoyang District (T010/64167544, Wwww
.koryogroup.com), who arrange visits (heavily controlled, of course) to the paranoid
hermit kingdom of North Korea. Expect to pay at least US$2000 for the privilege.
BASICS | Arrival
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