China Homestay - Experience the homestay in Beijing

Beijing was the first city in China to have a subway. Although always crowded, the subway is still the fastest way to get around the city center. Now there are two subway-lines and two CityRails in Beijing . The Circle Line(Line 2) runs underneath the second Ring Road,now is 16 km .The straight line(Line 1) which extends from Sihuidong out to Pingguo Yuan ,now is 38 km long and provides two exchange stations Line 2, at Fuxingmen and Jianguomen. (see detail in map ) To make a full circle on Line 2 takes about fifty minutes, and for Line 1 from takes about more than one hour.

"CityRail"One is (Line 13) started in December 1999. The semicircular line with 16 stations runs from Xizhimen to Dongzhimen (both are transfer stations on the circle Line 2)..And another "CityRail"is Line 1 ext (Batong Line),The straight line with 13 stations runs from Sihui to Tuqiao,the start station is Sihui and SihuiEast. The lines is mainly above ground.

Besides bicycles, public buses are the cheapest way to get around Beijing. The trick is to find the right line to get where you want to go often you have to change buses several times. Which is time-consuming and confusing. The public bus system in Beijing is very good. In that you can get almost anywhere by bus. But the downside is that they are really, really crowded and uncomfortable, also, watch your wallet when you get on the bus.pickpokets frequent bus stops and get your stuff just as you are getting on. There are two types of buses;the ancient, two-segment behe-moths, and the modern, air-condetioned buses which are a blessing in the summer.

The most convenient way to get around Beijing is to take a taxi. There are tens of thousands of them running around the city at all times of the day. There are just one price: 2.00 yuan/km. If you can speak Chinese or if you are learning Chinese , chatting with cabbies is a great way to pick up Beijing slang. If you can't speak Chinese, it is best to bring along the address in Chinese of the place you want to go, as most drivers'Engling is limited to "hello"and "ok". There are also lots of drivers running around in private cars who accept money for rides. However , it is inadvisabe to take these cars, because they are a) illegal and b)not always trustworthy, but sometimes if there are notaxis available, this is the only option.