There are hundreds of public bus routes in Beijing. They play an important role in the common people's daily lives. But visitors should avoid taking a public bus during rush hours, as it is very crowded. Commonly, buses No.1 – No.122 run in the downtown area; buses No.300 – No.949 run to the outskirts of Beijing. Bus numbers beginning with '8' are air-conditioned; other numbers indicate double-decker, special tour lines, night buses, and so on. Some buses do not have a conductor; so passengers should board the bus at the front, drop the ticket fee into the box and exit at the rear. Please prepare your small bills before boarding. The ticket fee for a public bus in Beijing is very cheap. The ticket price is CNY1 for city routes. The ticket price for buses with air conditioning is CNY2. But different buses often charge differently:
Tickets:
Bus No.1 – No.200: CNY1
Bus No.201 – No.212 (night bus): CNY2
Bus No.300 – No.599: starting from CNY1 and CNY0.5 added for following each 5 kilometers (3.1 miles)
Bus lines starting with 'Te': CNY2
In addition, the Transportation Smart Card is the most convenient and economical way for visitors when taking a public bus in Beijing. Passengers can get a big discount with the card. Bus Routes:
Here are some public bus routes to main stops which may be helpful for your trip:
| Main Stops | Bus Route |
| Tiananmen Square | 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, 22, 37, 52, 59, 120, 126, 728, 802 |
| Beijing Railway Station | 9, 10, 20, 24, 25, 39, 52, 59, 122, Night203, Night204, Night208, Night209, Night211, 403, 420, 434, 457,637, 638, 639, 640, 668, 673, 674, 729, 744, 938, 957 |
| Beijing West Railway Station | 9, 21, 40, 47, 50, 52, 54, 65, 67, Night205, Night209, Night212, 301, 319, 320, 373, 374, 387, 437, 609, 616, 661, 662, 663, 673, 702, 727, 741, 802, 823, 937Branch |
| Summer Palace | Night209, 330, 331, 332, 346, 394, 718, 726, 732, 737, 801, 808, 817, 826 |
| Forbidden City | Trolley101, Trolley 103, Trolley 109, Trolley 124, Night202, Night211, 685, 810, 814, 846 |
| Shichahai | 5, Trolley101, Trolley 103, Trolley 109, Trolley 124, Night202, Night211, 685, 814, 846 (get off at Beihai Stop) |
| Temple of Heaven | 17, 35, 120, Night203, 729, 803 |
| Liulichang Cultural Street | 7, 14, 15, 66, 70 |
Public Buses starting with '9' are specially used for tourism. The charge is different according to the distance.
| Bus Route | Departure Site | Attractions on the Way |
| 918 | Dongzhimen Long-Distance Bus Station | Jinhai Lake |
| 919 (air-con) | Deshengmen | Badaling Great Wall, Weihe Drift, Hot Spring Resort |
| 919 Branch | Deshengmen | Kangxi Grassland |
| 919 (com) | Deshengmen | Badaling Great Wall, Badaling Wild Animal Zoo, Juyongguan Pass, Longqing Gorge |
| 937 Branch | Lishi Lu | Xingming Lake Resort |
| 931 | Pingguoyuan | Jietaisi Temple, Tanzhesi Temple |
| 929 Branch | Pingguoyuan | Lingshan Mountain, Chuan Di Xia Village |
| 920 (circle route) | Yanqing | Longqing Gorge, Badaling Hot Spring Resort |
| 938 | Beijing Railway Station | No.1 City under the Heaven |
| 948 | Pingguoyuan | Jietaisi Temple, Tanzhesi Temple |
| 945 | Shunyi | Longmai Hot Spring |
| 985 | Sihui | Longmai Hot Spring |
| 917 Branch1 | Tianqiao | Hancun River |
| 917 Branch2 | Tianqiao | Shidu |
Furthermore, as a cultural center of China, there are plenty of universities in Beijing. Bus No.331 and No.375 can take you to many famous universities of China, including Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing Normal University, Beijing Film Academy, China University of Political Science and Law, Beihang University, Peking University Health Science Center, China University of Petroleum, China University of Geosciences, Beijing Language and Culture University, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Peking University, Tsinghua University and finally, the School of International Studies of Peking University.
Bus No.323 from Beijing Zoo to the Summer Palace also passes by many universities and research institutions, such as Central University for Nationalities, Beijing Dance Academy, Beijing Institute of Technology, Renmin University of China, Peking University, National Library and Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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Tips:1. IC card can only be used for one person each time.
2. Some of the bus routes are charged according to the distance, passengers should use the card twice both when getting on and off the bus. For detailed information, please visit the official website of Beijing City-bus at http://www.bjbus.com/english/.
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Travelers' Voices on Beijing City-Bus
1.
Nov. 19,2009 21:39 Reply
Mrs.DEWI(Indonesia) said:
hi, pls advice what number
of the bus should i take, if i want to go from tiananmen square to :
1.drum tower
2. olympic stadium
3.beijing zoo
4.beijing aquarium
5.summer palace
thank you
Nov. 19,2009 23:56
Ms.Kay replied:
Hello
1) Take bus No. 82 to Gulou (Drum Tower).
2) Bus No.82 leads to the Olympic stadium;
3) First take bus No.22 to Xisilukoubei and then change to bus No. 685.
4) Beijing Aquarium is inside the Beijing Zoo, please follow the answer above;
5) Take bus No.22 to Beitaipingqiaoxi and catch No.718 to the final stop.
Nov. 20,2009 02:16
Mrs.DEWI(Indonesia) replied:
if i want to get back to tiananmen from above location, should i take the same bus number? thanks
2.
Nov. 19,2009 05:39 Reply
Mr.scott(india) said:
hi, i want to go to xian from beijing via railway. plz advice about the bus number from tiananmen to the railway station. which railway station should i go to? east, north, south? thanks
Nov. 19,2009 19:22
Ms.Kay replied:
Hello:
You can take bus No.52 to the Beijing West Railway station, because most trains from Beijing to Xian start from the West Station.
3.
Nov. 8,2009 23:16 Reply
Mr.Rain said:
Beijing Combined Transport Sightseeing Line No.1 and 2 was temporarily closed from Nov.6 due to the coming dull season in downtown travel.
Nov. 9,2009 01:51
Ms.Jane(Ireland) replied:
I appreciate your inforamtion. Thank you!
4.
Nov. 4,2009 21:06 Reply
Mr.Juan Abello(Colombia ) said:
Hi,
I live at PingGuo She Qu really near to Jianguomenwai St. I need to go everyday to the Guomao Bridge with the East 3rd Ring Road. normally I walk but it is a 30 minute walk. Do you know which bus can I take from my house to get there, and which one to go back?
Thanks,
Juan
Nov. 5,2009 01:05
Ms.Jassica replied:
Hi
There is no bus direct to Guomao Bridge. You take bus No.31 at the Baiwanzi Road and get off at Bawangfen bei, then change to bus No.667 or 57 to get to Dabeiyao (2 stops). Hope it can help you.
5.
Oct. 31,2009 04:13 Reply
Mr.Marij(Netherlands) said:
Hello,
From 16 dec till 22 dec we will visit Beijing. Our hotel: Crown Plaza Wang Fu Jing Street.
Can you help us to make travelplans for 3 days sightseeing.
We like to visit:
Great Wall Mutianya (better by private guide???)
Tiananmen Square
Summer Palace
Temple of Heaven
Lama Temple
Forbidden City
Hutongs (the real ones where the people live, not the very tourist ones)
and offcourse shopping in outlet and great malls and markets but don't know where they are in Beijing.
We also like tot visit amusement parks on 2 (other) days but don't know if they are open in december:
Happy Valley (Chaoyang)
Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park (Shijingshan)
A lot of questions but I hope somebody can help me and my mother to plan a great trip.
Thanks.
6.
Oct. 17,2009 11:30 Reply
Ms.Alma (Philippines) said:
Hi,
I am in Beijing Right now staying at Jiuxianqiao Middle Rd, Cahoyang District. I woluld like to go to Great Wall Simatai. Is there a bus going there? Any tour package that you know? I have a tight budget and the only reason I came to Beijing is to go to Simatai.
Thanks
Alma
Oct. 18,2009 21:02
Mr.Qi replied:
Take bus 401 and Jiuxianqiao Road to Lidu Hotel (not far, yu can take a taxi, either), change to Bus 980 there to Miyun, then shift to minibus to Simatai.
7.
Oct. 15,2009 22:08 Reply
Mr.sundarrajan(beijing) said:
we are staying at tongshou, beijing near jukeshu station. we want to reach east gate of summer palace through subway. could you please tell us easiest way to reach the east gate?.
Oct. 17,2009 03:37
Mr.Leo replied:
Very easy! At Jiukeshu Station, please take the subway Line 1 to get to Xidan firstly. Then, please transfer to Line 4 here, which could take you to the east gate of the Summer Palace directly.
8.
Oct. 12,2009 01:59 Reply
Ms.Mariya(ukraine) said:
Hello! How to get to the World Park from Swissotel?
Thank you
Oct. 12,2009 05:00
Mr.kim replied:
Swissotel’s address is No. 2 North Chaoyangmen Avenue (Chaoyangmen Bei Dajie) Beijing. And Beijing World Park is in southwestern Fengtai District. You could take bus No. 44 or 2 from Dongsishitiao Qiaonan(东四十条桥南)(5 stops) and change to No.692 at Chunwenmen Stop. You will reach the Beijing World Park after 23 stops of No.692.
9.
Oct. 6,2009 04:20 Reply
Ms.Yu(Indonesia) said:
Please advise how to go to Mutianyu and Sichahai from BEIJING LANDMARK TOWERS by bus.
If I can go to these 2 spots in one day, what is the better route and how long does it take to go from the hotel to each spot?
Is it better to take bus or subway?
Thanks.
Oct. 10,2009 01:27
Mr.Qi replied:
Take Bus 909 at Liangmaqiao Bus Station just at the East 3rd Ring Road and get off at Deshengmen Wai (8 stops). Then change to Bus 55 to Jiangyangfang (4 stops). Walk through Yangfang Hutong to find the entrance of Shichahai. Also use Bus 909 to Dongzhimen. There are tourist bus 936 to Mutianyu directly. If you want to travel in one day, you should get to Dongzhimen to Mutianyu early in the morning and back to Dongzhimen. Take Bus 909 to Deshengmenwai and then to Shichai.
10.
Sep. 28,2009 16:02 Reply
Ms.Tracy(USA) said:
Dear
My name is Tracy, I plan to take my family to Beijing for budget Vacation next summer 2010. I would like if you can advise us some hotel (4 stars)and the best way to get around Beijing. We would like to visit
1. Lama Temple
2. Forbidden City
3. Great Wall
4. Temple of Heaven
5. Summer Palace
6. Bei Hai Park
7. Purple Bamboo
8. Tiananmen Gate
Bus or Subway?
thanks so much for your help!
Sep. 30,2009 03:34
Mr.Shan replied:
For hotels, it is suggested that you find one around the Tiananmen Square, Qianmen or close to subway station. Here is a list for you: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/hotel/beijing-hotels.htm
The subway of Beijing is very convenient and cheap enough, so please use it as much as possible.
Lama Temple: could be reached by subway Line 2 and Line 5
Forbidden City&Tiananmen Square: they are located together, which could be reach by many city-buses and subway Line 1
Great Wall: at the Deshenmen bus terminal (reached by subway Line 2), you could catch the bus No.919 to reach Badaling directly
Summer Palace: the subway Line 4 is the best choice, besides of it, lots of city-buses departing from Qianmen could reach the park directly.
Beihai Park: it is just located at the north gate of the Forbidden City. Many city-buses could be used, too!
Purple Bamboo Park: over ten city-buses could be used.
Well, you'd better fix on the hotel and then I could give you the detailed itinerary.