What do people talk about when they talk about Beijing?
As a city with a 800 plus years of history, and as the Chinese capital city since 1421 BC, there are countless things to explore, from the Forbidden City to street snacks, to the great wall and even folk crafts… You name it. More and more children are learning Chinese. Book your kids a free demo class.
But its rich historical heritage sometimes leads to people ignoring that fact that Beijing is also a super metropolitan city, with a population of more than 30 million!
Living in the city, there are facilities you need to use every day. They slowly become symbols attached to the city, one example is the subway. If you decide to visit Beijing, besides a credit card and some basic daily Mandarin Chinese expressions, the next most important thing you will need every day is the subway.
Indeed, for Beijingers and foreigners living in the city, taking the Subway is always a love-and-hate relationship: It is so convenient that it can take you to anywhere you want to go faster than most other forms of transportation. However, it can be incredibly crowded. People joke that when you are in the subway during the rush hour in Beijing, you don’t need to walk on your feet, people around you will move your forward! Of course, this is a little exaggerated. Yet…it’s quite true.
But its rich historical heritage sometimes leads to people ignoring that fact that Beijing is also a super metropolitan city, with a population of more than 30 million!
Living in the city, there are facilities you need to use every day. They slowly become symbols attached to the city, one example is the subway. If you decide to visit Beijing, besides a credit card and some basic daily Mandarin Chinese expressions, the next most important thing you will need every day is the subway.
Indeed, for Beijingers and foreigners living in the city, taking the Subway is always a love-and-hate relationship: It is so convenient that it can take you to anywhere you want to go faster than most other forms of transportation. However, it can be incredibly crowded. People joke that when you are in the subway during the rush hour in Beijing, you don’t need to walk on your feet, people around you will move your forward! Of course, this is a little exaggerated. Yet…it’s quite true.
By 2017, the Beijing Subway system had 22 lines with 370 Stations in total. The total route length is 377.9 miles (608.2 km). This makes it the second longest subway system in the world, only after Shanghai Metro.
But just like the population in Beijing, the growth of the subway is never-ending. New lines are still under construction: by the year of 2021, the total route length will have almost doubled and be close to 621 miles. This explains why so many people take the subway on a daily basis, as you can always find a subway very easily. Unlike the subway system of New York and London, where delays and maintenances fairly common, Beijing subway is pretty punctual and you almost never need to worry about unexpected delays and change of schedules.
Of course, you have to make sure to take the right direction. And you need to prepare for the crowds, both physically and psychologically.
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