12hours Transit time in Beijing, What places to visit?

[imron]

Since the introduction of the subway line to the airport there have always been two subway stations, one for Terminal 3, and one shared by the older Terminals 1&2. Take whichever one is appropriate (almost certain to be Terminal 3 if you are coming from an international flight). The airport subway line is treated as a separate line from the main subway so you'll need to pay an interchange fee when transferring to Line 2, however there is no interchange fee between any of the other lines. There is little to no difference between Tian'anmen East or West in terms of how close they are to the square, as the only real difference is that they are located on opposite corners. Might as well come up at Tian'anmen East, because it'll be closer if you're coming from line 2.

[roddy]

Personally I wouldn't take the airport express for this trip, but I guess it might be easier for someone who doesn't know Beijing. I'm concerned about where you're going to have lunch though. If you're taking the airport express, I'd get to Dongzhimen, find somewhere to eat there, then head on to Tiananmen.

[Brian US]

I'd get to Dongzhimen, find somewhere to eat there, then head on to Tiananmen.

This will also help avoid those tea house scammers from preying on a hungry foreigner.

[JonBI]

Are not all bank rates on foreign exchange the same official rate in banks? Either way, always change in banks if you can help it. As for Beijing, it depends, but keep in mind, the forbidden city can be tiring, and the city is big, so you will need to map out where to go in your head. As for transport, subway is your best friend, and then busses to the stations if they are closer. Public transport for foreigners should be dirt cheap (1kuai, or 2kuai) so do not worry too much about that. There is an airport subway line that will be cheaper and faster than a taxi also.

[889]

Exchange rates used to be the same everywhere, but not anymore. And Bank of China at the airport, but not the city, now seems to charge commission on cash exchange.

http://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/20080823/01062388902.shtml

[fstop]

Thanks again for all the great info! I might be able to buy some RMB from a friend.

By the way, how's the weather in Beijing on January? Does it snow there? What's the temperature range?

Inspired by my transit over Beijing, I have been practicing some tongue curlers aka ErHua ;) Attached is the audio file of my reading practice from one of the books that I use at the the Mandarin Training Center - National Taiwan Normal University. I've noticed some wrong pronunciation already like the word 参, I pronounced it as Shan and it should be Shen. But, who said you don't learn ErHua in Taiwan ;) Please let me know what you think. Feel free to be honest, I can take it. ;)

If you are interested to see the transcript (traditional characters), here's the link to the audio with transcript - Audio and Transcript

Thanks

fstop-erhua.mp3