Taking a taxi is the most convenient way for visitors to travel around the metropolis of Beijing. There are more than 67,000 taxis operating in every corner of the city.

The taxis are visible at the airport, railway and bus stations. What's more, most taxi drivers in Beijing speak some simple English. This provides foreign visitors with great convenience of being able to communicate.

The charge of taxi service in Beijing differs according to the  time of day. In daytime, the flag-down rate is 10 yuan (1.46 U.S. dollars) for the first three km and two yuan per km for the  remainder of the journey. If the trip is longer than 15 km, the charge rises to three yuan per km. At nighttime (11 p.m.to 5 a.m.), the flag-down rate is 11 yuan for the first three km, and  the charge for travel over three km is 2.4 yuan per km, and 3.4  yuan per km for a journey of over 15 km.   

Although taxis are expensive for some travelers, they are convenient, especially in the middle of the night or in early  morning.

Due to the traffic in Beijing, taxis charge not only according  to their meter, but also for waiting time in traffic, driving at  night and distance for driving without a passenger. For every  accumulated five minutes of waiting time you will be charged an  additional one-km fee. It is recommended tourists ask for a  receipt from the driver because the car number, company name,  driver registration and complaint telephone number information are listed on it.