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Beijing Airport to City in 2026: PEK vs PKX Transfer Guide

Last updated: 14 September 2026 · Every fare, timetable and payment detail below is dated and linked to an official source in the fact list · Jump to sources

1. First, work out which airport you are actually landing at

Beijing’s two airports sit on opposite sides of the municipality, and that single fact decides your whole arrival plan.

Why this matters more than the fare: the airport line you use determines which metro interchange you reach first. Booking a hotel on the wrong side of the city converts a 40-minute arrival into a two-hour one — our Beijing stay guide covers the area choice in detail.

2. Capital Airport Express (PEK) — flat CNY 25

The Capital Airport Express is a designated airport line, and the airport itself publishes the key numbers:

• Fare: CNY 25 per person, single journey (flat — not part of the city network’s distance-based scheme).
• Five stations: Beixinqiao — Dongzhimen — Sanyuanqiao — Terminal 3 — Terminal 2.
• Trains roughly every 10 minutes (the airport notes the interval is subject to the operator’s published information).
• Boarding: Terminal 2 — car park level B2; Terminal 3 — car park level F2.

Published station hours (airport website, direction-specific):

Two practical consequences:

1. Do not plan a midnight arrival around the express. The last city-side departures are in the 22:30–23:34 window depending on station and direction. Terminal-side first and last times are published on the same airport page — check them for your specific terminal and date.
2. Treat the airport line as a separate ticket. The line is priced on its own. The operator’s ticket rules do allow a combined single ticket covering both the airport line and the onward city-network leg, used at the interchange station you select when buying — on this line, Beixinqiao, Dongzhimen or Sanyuanqiao. Buying that combined ticket at the start avoids a second queue at the interchange.

Transfers: Sanyuanqiao connects to metro Lines 10 and 12, and Beixinqiao, Dongzhimen and Sanyuanqiao are all listed by the operator as interchange stations between the airport line and the wider city network. Check the current network map for the fastest onward route, because line numbering and openings change.

3. Daxing Airport Express (PKX) — distance fare, business class option

The Daxing Airport Express is a separate line with three stations and a distance-based fare.

Stations: Caoqiao — Daxing Xincheng — Daxing Airport. Boarding at the terminal: level B1, the rail station concourse.

Ticket rules and fares (2026 August revision of the operator’s ticket rules — note the three brackets apply to the ordinary car):

• Business car: a flat CNY 50 for the whole line — the only class-differentiated fare on the network’s airport lines.
• The full Caoqiao–Daxing Airport run sits in the top bracket at CNY 35, because the line is longer than 30 km. Shorter city-side hops (for example to Daxing Xincheng) fall into a lower bracket.
• Children 1.3 m and under ride free when accompanied by a paying adult. The operator asks adults to go through the gate behind the child.
• Time limit: you may stay inside the paid area for a maximum of 4 hours in one journey; overstaying is charged at the lowest ordinary single fare.

Operating hours and headway (operator page and the Beijing key station-area authority page):

• Sunday evening: the last train from Daxing Airport is extended to 23:30, and the last train from Daxing Xincheng towards Caoqiao to 23:42.
• Caoqiao interchange passages open at 05:10 and close at 23:21 (towards the airport line and Line 19) and 23:30 (towards Line 10).
• Headway: no more than 9 minutes 20 seconds in the operator’s stated window of 05:41–22:30, then 15 minutes between 22:30 and 23:00.
• Ticket sales stop 5 minutes before the last train — arrive 10 minutes early to be safe.

Caoqiao is the useful station, not just the terminus. Beyond the Line 10 and Line 19 interchange, in-town check-in, baggage drop-off and luggage security screening are available at Caoqiao, so you can clear your bags before you go into the city.

Paying at the gate. The Daxing line’s ticket rules are unusually explicit for foreign visitors. Accepted at the gates: Beijing Yikatong cards, BEIJING PASS, intercity cards issued outside Beijing, UnionPay QuickPass contactless cards, overseas bank cards, and digital-RMB hardware wallets — plus ticketing apps including the 亿通行 app and Alipay. UnionPay and foreign cards follow a one-card-per-person rule, and card and phone NFC cannot be mixed in one journey.

4. Airport shuttle buses — the option for rail stations and heavy luggage

Buses are slower than the airport trains and usually cheaper than a taxi, and they are the only public option that reaches some of Beijing’s rail stations directly.

Where they go. The airport publishes city routes linking Beijing Capital International Airport with Gongzhufen, Beijing West Railway Station, Tongzhou, Beijing South Railway Station, Beijing Qinghe, Beijing Chaoyang, Daxing Airport and the Badaling Great Wall.

What they cost. Fares are tiered by stop across eight brackets: CNY 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 50 / 55 / 80. The airport directs passengers to the official bus platform or the on-site ticket booth for the exact fare for a given stop — so treat any single figure you see quoted online as line-specific.

What changed on 7 April 2026 — the Beijing municipal government portal published the operator’s adjustment notice on 30 March 2026. The details that affect a traveller:

• Capital Airport–Beijing West Railway Station: daily departures increased from 66 to 88, with the peak headway cut from 30 to 20 minutes; new pickup stops added (Xizhimen South, Yonghegong Bridge East towards the airport) and a new drop-off stop (Chaoyangmen South).
• Capital Airport–Beijing Chaoyang: departures up from 16 to 34 per day, now hourly.
• Capital Airport–Fengtai: the fare rose from CNY 30 to CNY 35.
• Daxing Airport–Beijing Chaoyang: departures up from 22 to 46 per day, hourly, with a 30-minute peak headway.
• Daxing night line to Zhongguancun (Night 1): last departure extended from 02:00 to 03:00, every 30 minutes, leaving when full.
• Discontinued: the Daxing Airport–Fengtai line and the Daxing night line to Beijing South (Night 2) stopped running on 7 April 2026. If an older guide still lists them, it is out of date.

Buying a ticket. Through the 机场巴士官方平台 mini-program or at the on-site counters. 24-hour telephone lines: 010-64378900 (Capital Airport) and 010-81698565 (Daxing Airport).

5. Taxis and ride-hailing

Official taxi ranks sit outside the arrivals halls at both airports, and metered taxis plus app-based ride-hailing are the only door-to-door options for a very late arrival.

Two honest caveats:

• We give no fare estimate here. No official airport taxi fare table was available for this update, and quoted online figures differ widely; check the metre, the official rank and your ride-hailing app’s own estimate on the day.
• At the official rank you have more protection. Unofficial drivers approach arriving passengers in the terminal; the metered rank outside arrivals is the route with a receipt and an accountable operator.

Or book a transfer before you fly. If you would rather not negotiate the kerb at all, a pre-booked private transfer puts a driver in the arrivals hall with your name on a sign and settles the price in advance — the easiest option for late arrivals, first trips and anyone travelling with children or heavy bags. Booking platforms such as Kiwitaxi, Welcome Pickups (which covers Beijing) and GetTransfer let you reserve a private transfer from both PEK and PKX and see the quoted price before you commit. We still publish no taxi fare figures — a pre-booked quote is simply the way to know your cost in advance.

6. Which option, for whom

Next steps: if your trip continues by train, our 12306 high-speed rail booking guide covers ticketing; sort out mobile data before you land so ride-hailing and payment apps work from the moment you switch your phone on; and browse the transport guides hub or the full guide index if you are arriving in another city.

FAQ

Keep planning

• ChinaTripBlueprint home — practical, China-side guides for first-time travelers
• All guides by topic — every guide, grouped by category
• Where to Stay in Beijing — which area to book for a first trip
• How to Book China High-Speed Rail Tickets — the 12306 English guide
• Best eSIM for China — get online the moment you land
• China visa-free entry 2026 — who can enter without a visa
• More transport guides · City guides

Sources

All sources retrieved 14 September 2026 unless marked otherwise. Fares, timetables and bus routes change — re-verify at the official source before you travel.

No official airport taxi fare table was available for this update, so this page publishes no taxi or ride-hailing fare figures — check the metre and the official rank, or book a transfer at a quoted price. This page also makes no claim about which airport is “better” and gives no intercity-rail timetable or ticket price.

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