Beijing is a large and prosperous city. There are a number of ways to travel in Beijing. To avoid paying cash every time, it is recommended to purchase a transportation card available at most large subway stations. You will need to pay a 20RMB deposit and a minimum top-up amount to purchase a card.

Tips: You can download an app such as Baidu Maps (百度地图) or Google Maps (谷歌地图) to search for information of bus and subway routes; alternatively, you can use the Yi Beijing Public Transport (北京公交) app to take the subway and bus by scanning the QR code in it.

Below are some of the common means of public transportation you can use to get around Beijing.

By Subway

Beijing is a city with the most extensive subway networks in the world. The city's subway network is fast and reliable, though a little crowded, especially during rush hour. There are subway stations all over the city, including at most major attractions. From PKU you can take Line 4 from East Gate of Peking University Station (北京大学东门站). Please pay close attention to the operation time of the last train when you are out for the evening.

Phone number of the Service Line of Beijing Subway: 96165

By Bus

There are nearly 900 bus routes in Beijing. Different lines of bus have their special routes: 1-132 are routes in the center of the city (within the 3rd ring road); 200-215 are night buses; 300-499 serve past the 3rd ring to the inner suburbs; 500-799 serve both the center and the suburbs; and 800-999 serve those commuting to and from the distant suburbs. Especially, Lines 1 to 8 are comfortable double-decker buses for sightseeing around the inner city.You can refer to the website http://www.bjbus.com which is an interactive website to help you find your way around the city via public transportation.

• Bus Stops near PKU

Southeast Gate: Zhongguanyuan Station 中关园站

East Gate: Zhongguanyuan North Station 中关园北站

West Gate: Beidaximen Station 北大西门站

Southwest Gate: Haidianqiao North Station 海淀桥北站

By Taxi

Taxi is relatively expensive compared to other forms of public transport. The starting price of a taxi ride in Beijing is about 13 RMB. If you travel more than 3km, you will have to pay an additional price by kilometer. The rate still goes up after 15km. Night-time rates are generally higher. Sometimes, you will also have to pay the expressway toll. Please keep the receipt in case you need to get in touch with the driver or with the taxi company.

Please make sure the taxi has the driver's ID visible on the dashboard and uses a meter so that you will not be overcharged. It is better for you to prepare and show the address of your destination in Chinese to the driver. If you prefer to use Travel Apps to call taxis, you may try setting the app language into English.

By Car

Driving in the citymay not be easy due to the traffic jams. Besides, parking can be a problem. Since owning a car is not practical for tourists and foreign residents, you can rent a car from a car rental company.

By Bicycle

If you are a biking enthusiast, you can get around the city with a bicycle. When riding a bike, please avoid the ring roads, major thorough fares, and busy streets without bicycle lanes.

Most major Chinese cities provide bike-sharing (共享单车) services. On a day-to-day basis, picking up one of these bikes requires only scanning a QR code and paying a small fee via WeChat Pay or AliPay. You will have to upload a photo of yourself and your passport and, in some cases, pay a small deposit in order to get set up on these bike-sharing apps.