Beijing Capital International Airport

beijing capital international airport is the busiest airport in china. it had a major overhaul when the summer olympics of 2008 was held in beijing.

my flight to manila from paris had it's 2nd stopover in beijing in terminal 2. inside, it is very confusing, because i am not leaving the airport for i had only 3 hours stopover.

indeed, because i have to aply first for a transit visa after landing, and it does not state to which counter the transit visa is. for sure there is already a ground stewardess waiting at the arrival explaining thing, but you can really understand what she's saying, it makes it more confusing than it was.

inside the aiport after having your passport stamped and going through customs, the check in counter for other airlines is confusing. you have to go down pass a different hall and you'll basically get lost because there are no signs to where the check-in halls are.

staff in the check-in halls are not really friendly, theyre like ants programmed only to do one thing, and if something goes out of the program, they would be confused and lost.

so hope and pray that your baggage would not be lost like mine, so you have a smooth sailing check in and flight.

The new terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) is brand new and very spacious, but that's also one of its disadvantages. After the airplane lands, it takes a long time, sometimes 10-15 minutes for it to taxi to somewhere, which may not be the gate! But far out on the tarmac in a corner of the airport, and you would get off on the airport and walk down stairs to the tarmac. Then an airport ferry bus would come to take you to the terminal, this bus ride can also take a long time, 10 minutes or more. Once you get into the terminal, you would probably be impressed by the tall ceilings and modern architecture. If your gate is at the far end of the terminal, it could be a good 5-10 minute walk to immigration and customs and health quarantine. The immigration is usually very fast, as they have lots of agents serving the travelers. If you did not get an entry card to fill out on the airplane, you can find one here and fill it out.

The luggage area is also very spacious, the speed the luggage shoots out of belt into the carousel was the fastest I have ever seen! Free luggage carts are available here if you have a lot of luggage.
With your luggage, you go past the customs probably with nothing to declare, and through the Greeting Hall (very large) to the outside to catch a taxi or airport bus to Beijing. Check the web site for the official information on taxis and buses.

When you take a flight from the airport, you may find some reclining lounge chairs at certain gates, but they are likely to be occupied by the early birds. They have a business center before you walk way out of the branches of the terminal

For domestic departure, as of this writing (May 2008), no liquids are allowed in carry-on, and you must check them in checked luggage. Even though the signs said for domestic only, the rule apparently applies to international also. You would probably take the train to your terminal, like all the E gates are far away and you have to take the train to it. The train comes every 3 minutes. After getting off, you will then go through the quarantine, immigration (fill out a departure card), customs, and security. This may take 20 minutes total. Then you are at the gates area. Here you should find a business center where you can use the internet for 10 RMB/15 minutes or 30 RMB for unlimited use.