Beijing Daxing Airport (PKX) to the City Center: The Easiest Way Into Beijing
Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) is far from central Beijing, so I would not wait until landing to compare every transport option.
For most daytime arrivals, I would take the Daxing Airport Express. It reaches Caoqiao in about 20 minutes, avoids traffic, and is the easiest option to understand after a long flight.
Daxing also has one unusual alternative: the Beijing-Xiong’an Intercity Railway. If you are staying near Beijing West Railway Station or continuing your trip by high-speed train, it can actually be more convenient.
For late-night arrivals, groups of three or four, or anyone with heavy luggage, I would choose an official taxi. DiDi works well too, but its pickup point requires a longer walk to the P1 parking garage.
All routes below start after you have cleared arrival formalities and collected your luggage.
Flying into Beijing Capital Airport instead? See my PEK to Beijing city center guide.
Affiliate disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you book through these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Beijing Daxing Airport to the City: Quick Comparison
| Transport | Best For |
| Daxing Airport Express | Most daytime arrivals |
| Beijing-Xiong’an Intercity Railway | Beijing West Station or onward trains |
| Official Taxi | Late night, groups, heavy luggage |
| DiDi | Travelers already comfortable with ride-hailing |
| Airport Shuttle Bus | Budget travelers or very late arrivals |
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Daxing Airport Express: My First Choice for Most Travelers
Route: Daxing Airport → Daxing Xincheng → Caoqiao
Fare: RMB 35 standard class
Journey to Caoqiao: About 20 minutes
Operating hours: Around 06:00–23:00, with later Sunday service
For a first arrival at Daxing Airport, this would be my default choice.
The biggest advantage is not just speed. It is predictability.
PKX is far enough from central Beijing that road traffic can make taxi and bus travel times difficult to judge. The Airport Express removes that problem completely and gets you to Caoqiao in around 20 minutes.
I would also stick with the standard RMB 35 ticket. For a short airport transfer, there is little reason for most travelers to pay extra for business class.
The main thing to watch is the last train. If your flight lands close to 10 PM, I would already have a taxi or airport bus as a backup. Immigration, luggage collection, and walking through Daxing’s very large terminal can take longer than expected.
How to Find the Airport Express
After entering the public arrivals hall, follow signs for:
Daxing Airport Express / 大兴机场线 / Rail Transit
Take the escalator or elevator down to B1.
This is the only part that can confuse first-time visitors: B1 also serves the national railway station.
The Airport Express and Beijing-Xiong’an Intercity Railway do not use the same entrance, so once you reach B1, keep following the specific Airport Express signs rather than simply following the crowd.
What Happens at Caoqiao?
At Caoqiao, you can continue by Metro Line 10 or Line 19.
Line 10 is useful for areas such as Guomao and southern or western Beijing, while Line 19 gives you a faster route toward parts of the western city.
The Airport Express uses separate ticketing from the regular Beijing Metro, so you will exit the Airport Express section and continue toward the metro connection.
This is why I mainly recommend it during normal daytime hours. If you reach Caoqiao after the regular metro has stopped running, you may still need a taxi to your hotel.
For most daytime arrivals, though, this is still the simplest way into Beijing.
Once you are in the city, my Beijing travel guide covers where to stay, what to prioritize, and practical tips for a first visit.
Beijing-Xiong’an Intercity Railway: Best for Beijing West Station
The Beijing-Xiong’an Intercity Railway is not my default recommendation, but it can be the smartest option for a specific type of traveler.
If your hotel is near Beijing West Railway Station, or you plan to continue to another Chinese city by train, check the timetable before taking the Airport Express.
The train runs directly from Daxing Airport to Beijing West Station in roughly 30 minutes on many services.
That can be much easier than taking the Airport Express to Caoqiao and then transferring again with luggage.
Second-class tickets are also usually inexpensive and can cost around the same as, or even less than, the Airport Express.
If Xi’an is your next stop, see my Beijing to Xi’an guide.
How to Find It
From arrivals, follow Rail Transit / 轨道交通 signs down to B1, then look specifically for:
Railway / 高铁 / Daxing Airport Railway Station
The railway section is separate from the Airport Express area.
Tickets can be booked through Railway 12306 or Trip.com. For foreign travelers, Trip.com is usually easier to navigate in English, while 12306 is the official railway platform.
Why I Wouldn’t Recommend It to Everyone
The main problem is frequency.
This is a railway service, not a metro. You need to care about the departure time.
If a train is leaving soon, it can be excellent. If you have just missed one, waiting may take longer than simply using the Airport Express.
So I think of it as a very good shortcut for Beijing West Station, not the standard PKX transfer.
Official Taxi: Best for Late Nights and Heavy Luggage
For late-night arrivals, several travelers, or large suitcases, an official taxi is often worth the extra cost.
Daxing Airport is much farther from central Beijing than Capital Airport, so taxi fares are naturally higher. A trip to central areas such as Wangfujing or Tiananmen will often cost roughly RMB 210–300, depending on traffic and time of day.
After leaving the arrivals hall, follow the Taxi / 出租车 signs toward the official taxi area near Gate 18.
Make sure you join the Beijing-bound queue rather than the line for Hebei destinations.
I would not worry if the meter reaches more than RMB 200. From PKX, that can be completely normal.
The most useful preparation is to save your:
Hotel name in Chinese + Chinese address + map screenshot
Show that to the driver and use the official taxi queue rather than accepting private ride offers inside the terminal.
Want a simpler airport arrival? Book a private transfer on Trip.com for a direct ride to your hotel—ideal if you have luggage or just want to skip the hassle of finding a taxi or ride-hailing pickup point.
DiDi: Convenient, but More Walking
DiDi is a good option if the app and your payment method are already working.
You can see an estimated fare before booking, choose different vehicle sizes, and avoid explaining the destination verbally.
But at PKX, it is not quite as effortless as joining the taxi queue.
The designated ride-hailing pickup area is inside the P1 parking garage on Level 1M.
From arrivals, follow the E-Hailing / 网约车 signs toward P1. Expect roughly a 7–12 minute walk depending on where you start.
That is the main reason I would choose a taxi instead if I were exhausted or carrying several large suitcases.
For groups of three or four who already use DiDi comfortably, however, it can work very well.
Airport Shuttle Bus: Mainly Useful Late at Night
During the day, the airport bus would not be my first choice.
The Airport Express is faster, easier, and unaffected by traffic.
The bus becomes more useful after the rail services stop running.
City buses leave from the indoor waiting area near Gate 20 and serve destinations including major railway stations and different parts of Beijing.
For a solo traveler arriving very late and trying to avoid a RMB 200–300 taxi, this can be one of the cheapest ways into the city.
The trade-off is time. Airport buses use the road, so a journey into central Beijing may take an hour or considerably longer in traffic.
I would only use one during the day if the stop was particularly convenient for my hotel.
At night, though, it becomes a much more practical backup.
What I Would Choose
If it were my first arrival at Daxing Airport, I would take the Airport Express during the day.
If I were staying near Beijing West Station, I would first check whether a convenient Beijing-Xiong’an Intercity train was leaving soon.
Late at night, I would choose between a taxi and the airport bus depending on budget, group size, and luggage.
The airport looks enormous, but there are only four locations I would remember:
Airport Express and railway: B1.
Taxi: Gate 18.
Airport shuttle bus: Gate 20.
DiDi: P1 parking garage, Level 1M.
That is really all you need to make the first trip from PKX into Beijing much easier.
Once you are settled in, my Beijing travel guide covers where to stay, what to see, and how to plan a first visit.
