Capital sits north-east of the city and is well connected. The decision is essentially train or taxi, and the train usually wins.
The Airport Express#
The dedicated rail link runs from Terminals 2 and 3 into the city. It makes two useful stops:
Sanyuanqiao, interchanging with Line 10, the loop line that serves much of eastern and northern Beijing including Sanlitun.
Dongzhimen, the terminus, interchanging with Line 2 — the loop around the old city centre — and Line 13.
For most central hotels you will ride to Dongzhimen and change to Line 2. Buy the Airport Express separately from the ordinary metro; the transport code in Alipay works on it, as do the machines at the platform.
Taxi#
Follow the signs to the official rank outside arrivals and join the queue. Insist on the meter — a driver who proposes a fixed price is overcharging you.
Have your hotel's name and address in Chinese characters ready on your phone. Handing over an English name and address will not get you there; Chinese drivers navigate by characters and district.
There is a motorway toll on the airport route which is legitimately added to the metered fare.
DiDi works from Capital, with marked pickup zones. It has the advantage of setting the destination in the app, which removes the language problem entirely.
What to avoid#
Anyone who approaches you inside the terminal offering a taxi. Licensed drivers wait at the rank and do not solicit passengers. The people who do are the ones who will quote a fare several times the meter.
Airport buses#
Coach routes run to points across the city and are cheaper than a taxi. Useful if one happens to terminate near your hotel, awkward otherwise, since you finish with a taxi ride anyway.
For which airport you are landing at and how Daxing differs, see which Beijing airport will I fly into, and the Beijing destination guide for the rest.