... and when departing

1. Find out what your terminal is! 16 or so airlines have moved to Terminal 3. One rule of thumb is that Skyteam (AirFrance, KLM, etc) is in Terminal 2, while Star Alliance (Air China, Thai, Singapore Air, etc) and Oneworld (BA, JAL, Cathay, etc) are in Terminal 3. While this rule might hold true, don't trust it! Always check.

Terminal 2
2. Check-in smartly! If traveling in Business or First, or having a card (Silver, Gold, whatever) that allows you to go to preferred desks, you can pretty much use any check-in counter for your airline. If traveling in Economy, while you typically cannot move around to other more "premium" counters, it there is "low traffic", try. Check-in is remarkably relaxed around these parts.

3. Get the departure paper! If you don't have it yet, ask for it when checking in. Some airlines don't have it around (Air China when at T2 used to be a notable example) and therefore pick it up when you get to the immigration hall. If the line is a normal one, you will most likely have time to fill it while on the queue. No need to stop to fill-in. When you have your paper, put it in the Visa page (I know, I know... but still it spares some seconds for the nice immigration officer to look for it).

4. All queues lead to Security! With the exception of the Olympic, Diplomatic and Group Visa lanes, all immigration lanes are both for National and Foreign citizens. Just choose the smallest, BUT be aware of the number of officers serving each queue. Although it's typically similar, it may prove an advantage/handicap or your queue.

5. Prepare for Security! While still in the immigration counter, get ready to get that laptop out as well as the liquid bag. Before you go into the Security ticket check, people will ask you if you need bag, etc, etc. Just show them yours and if it's good, you're fine. If it's not, they will give you one. The security check in itself is preceded by a ticket check. Although I've never understood the point of this, since you have just come from Immigration, it probably serves some purpose including control or number of people on the security check itself. Put your stuff into the machine and go.

6. Beg even when you are not right! If you have brought something that you shouldn't have, namely a bigger Perfume flask than the authorized capacity (100 ml) or somethings else, ask nicely and most of the times the Officer in charge will let you go. Don't give up straight away, as there is actually some stronger flexibility and common sense than you expect at these junctures.

7. Lounge ... safely! If you have access to one of the lounges, enjoy yourself... although with the exception of the BGS one, you are more likely than not to want to leave earlier and browse the nearby stores. Beware of your belongings. Although I don't think there is anything systemic going on, I have "lost" one my phones at the ex-Air China lounge after having my back to it for no more than 10 seconds. Never found, cameras were not on. Announcements at lounges are very vocal so you will only miss your flight if you really don't pay attention.

8. Go to the line! When boarding in Business or First class, don't worry too much. You typically have a lane for you and the other "premium" people. If in Economy, go for it as soon as you see they will start boarding. The boarding per row is a lot of times ineffective and you will regret not having gone to that queue earlier. That said, the ground staff is typically very aggressive on "early queuing" and will only let you queue 5 minutes or so before Boarding... Business and First is totally up to you.

9. Be smart when in the gates 1A, B, etc! If you fly in Business or First, you most likely have special gate to Board through (into the VIP Bus). Although this was an Air China thing (now in T3), take a look, it might still be around.

Terminal 3
1. through 5. Largely the same as for T2. On point 5., be patient with the Security officers. They are mostly very young, somewhat inexperienced (at least for now) and a bit too diligent. I recently found myself having to tell one of them that the object he had been looking at for 2 minutes was actually just a pen.

6. Doesn't work as well here, but still give it a try.

7. Lounging... but better! The new lounges at T3 are much better. If going to the Air China lounges and need to access the Internet, I believe the WiFi connection is still not working so kindly exchange your boarding pass for a LAN cable and go for it... for free.

8. Shop! Some good stores around, although I am not sure I understand why most of the best stores, restaurants, etc seem to be in 3C and not 3E (International).

9. Queuing! Similar to 8. in T2 although probably more space around you :-)

10. Beware of the gate numbers! Some of the gates - namely the ones for Bus access - are not sequentially distributed with the rest so you might jump from E20-something to E-60 something and then back to the normal "programme".

11. Everything is BIG so plan! From getting to the airport quite early - check-ins close 60 minutes before the flight - to going to the Gate early... everything here should be done (you guessed it) ... early. The airport is quite large and you will have to walk a lot.

A couple of things that might help when landing in Beijing Capital International airport... for those visiting during Olympics and others (international flights only)

Terminal 2 :
1. Have your paper(s) ready! The landing card is also stuck with the departing card these days. If you are just visiting for a few days, fill-in both while on the flight and make sure you got everything right. Keep your ticket stub with you just in case. The health paper is no longer in use and the customs one only needs to be filled-in if you have something to declare. Put the immigration paper(s) marking the page of the Visa on your passport... it does help the immigration Officer and you get through faster.

2. Run! Either from your gate or when left by the Bus, it is worthwhile to get to the immigration desks ahead of as many people as you can from your flight, since sometimes you get caught in what I call the "Perfect Storm", ie, several flights arrive at the same time.

3. Be nice and ask! When there are large queues, ask the officer(s) in front of the immigration desks (there is always at least one) if you can go to the National queues instead of the Foreigner ones. Most likely they will let you and my experience is that these lines - when there are a lot of people - are smaller than the Foreigner ones. You can use for instance "Ke yi ma?" pointing at the line you would like to join. Even if they say no, they will typically point you to another small National line.

4. Beware of the Russians! Sorry for the profiling (Russian people are in my experience typically very nice), but lines where there are Russian citizens in front of you tend to get larger as they progress... the issue is that more and more of their friends/family/acquaintances are getting in front of you. If you don't want to get into confrontations or the group is large anyway, I advise you to not go into those lines. Queuing is definitely not a Russian thing.

5. Pay attention to the closed queues/desks! Stay close to the closed Immigration desks. If the line is large, they typically tend to open so always pay attention to the 1 or 2 around your own line. When you see one open - and are still far from your objective - go for it even before they open the gate. Another trick is to stand in the first Foreigner queue after the National queues, because (1) if there is a closed one in-between, it will open at some point; (2) in case of low Chinese citizen traffic, sometimes the National one changes to Foreigner; (3) if you ask nicely, they probably will let you move to that queue if they haven't before.

6. Get a cart, your bags and go! If you need a cart and/or to pick up your bags, wait patiently or even assume they are already there. The handling is typically quite fast and more often than not, your bags will be our or coming out when you get to the baggage area. Go for the exit and don't stop unless you are asked by a customs officer to show your luggage.

7. Be smart! If there is someone waiting for you, tell him/her to wait outside the staff exit. It's the most direct exit without having to go through the whole sea of people trying to exit and also the ones trying to help them/pick them up. The officers are typically relaxed about you leaving through the staff exit and we thank them for that.

8. Beware of the cabbies! I prefer traveling with pick-ups to and from airport organized ahead of time, but some people don't. If you are in this group, be careful with the cabbies and agree the cost or ask for the meter to be on. If you pay more than 200 RMB to get to the "center" of the city, you are probably over-paying. They will add some charges for the toll for instance... so don't complain, since that is normal practice.

Terminal 3:
1. - 5. The same as above. Although the situation in 5. is less probable to happen, no harm is paying attention.

6. Go to the front carriage of the "train"! Go to the front carriage of the "train" linking you to terminal 3C. Two advantages: (1) less people go to that one, in particular the last door; (2) you will be ahead of everyone when stopping on the other side.

7. If in need, ask for support! Not sure there are (a lot of) buggies around the airport, but the airport is indeed massive. If you can't move well, ask for support from the ground team. The distances are quite large.

8. Same as above.

9. Enjoy it! I know you have come a long way, but T3 is an impressive piece of architecture. Its dimension is unique.