Airport to Liudaokou

[Cornelia]

Hi,

I will be arriving in Beijing in about 2 weeks.

My flight will land around 9pm-ish.

I am thinking about taking a cab to Yichengdongyuan apartment, which is where I will be living for the next few months while attending BLCU.

I heard it takes about 30-40 minutes from the airport, and the problem is that a lot of the cab drivers won't really know exactly where the apartment is.

Because I am a complete beginner in Chinese, I probably won't be able to give the driver any directions in Chinese.

Now my parents are freaking out because I am a really petite girl and I barely speak any Chinese...Plus I am taking the cab around 9-10pm at night...

They think I am gonna get kidnapped or something lol

I've been trying to tell them that there is nothing to worry about but now I am getting a little concerned about getting to the apartment myself...

So I guess my question is:

1) Do drivers usually know where to go if I just show him the apartment address on a piece of paper or something? (Do they have navigation in their cabs?)

2) If he doesn't know, is there a way to simply describe the location of the apartment? (I believe the apartment is located on Xueqinglu.)

3) Has anyone taken a cab from the airport at night by himself/herself? It's not dangerous, right?

I am getting really excited about going to Beijing, but there are also so many things to take care of/worry about!

I'd appreciate any help I can get!

Thank you so much

[anonymoose]

Why don't you just print out the address in Chinese first so you can show it to the cab driver? If you don't have it in Chinese characters, you could post it here in English/Pinyin and I'm sure someone would be willing to translate it for you.

[jbradfor]

1) Do drivers usually know where to go if I just show him the apartment address on a piece of paper or something? (Do they have navigation in their cabs?)

Usually they do know where to go. But not always. Beijing is a really big city, and most of the cab drivers are recent immigrants. So if the place is weird, IMHO you have a valid concern.

I'm not sure what to suggest. Print out a map? Contact the apartment and request driving direction?

problem is that a lot of the cab drivers won't really know exactly where the apartment is.

And you base this assertion on what information? If it's near BLCU, I would expect they would know that area?

[roddy]

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[Cornelia]

Wow, thank you so much!

I really appreciate all of your help

I am so thankful this forum!!

[jmhcali]

The first time I went to Beijing I took a taxi from the airport to my hotel alone as well. Like you I'm a petite little woman and didn't speak much Chinese. Before I went I learned how to say "I'm going here" (then hand the driver the address) and "Please use the meter" (so you don't have to argue about the fare).

No problems. The cabby chattered at me the whole way; I didn't understand a word. Totally non-threatening.

Phonetically those phrases would be roughly "wo choo dzai nar" and "ching yong byao" if you have the same American accent I do.