Beijing’s public transportation system is set to become more foreigner-friendly with the Chinese capital preparing to introduce the “Beijing Pass”, an all-in-one city travel pass, which will make it more convenient for foreigners to use public transport in Beijing. Foreigners will be able to use their international bank cards to purchase the pass at the city’s seven railway stations and two airports that have integrated subway lines. To facilitate the smooth launch of the Beijing Pass, subway stations are currently undergoing on-site testing. “If the pass can be integrated with Alipay, a widely used Chinese digital payment platform, it will also save time and make it easier for foreigners to use public transportation,” Wu Lihong, Professor at the China Academy of Culture and Tourism of the Beijing International Studies University, said
Beijing’s new foreigner-friendly move comes at a time when the city is witnessing a rapid increase in the number of overseas visitors. The capital has already introduced several facilities to serve them better. For example, all 335 stations across the 17 lines managed by Beijing Subway have been equipped with point-of-sale machines as of June 1. These machines allow foreign passengers to purchase tickets using international bank cards. The authorities plan to introduce additional services, such as allowing foreigners to use their international bank cards directly at the platform gates.
In addition to taking steps to streamline payment services, Beijing Subway has piloted the installation of multilingual translation devices at eight stations that foreign travelers frequently visit, such as Tiananmen West on Line 1, to offer them more accurate and detailed information about subway schedules.
According to the Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection, the number of entries and exits at Beijing’s ports already exceeded 10 million this year, surpassing the total number for the whole of last year. More than 1.2 million were inbound foreign visitors, a year-on-year increase of 210%. Apart from Beijing, other major cities in China such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, are also making public transportation more accessible for international visitors by introducing similar passes and allowing taxi fares to be paid with international credit cards, the China Daily reports. Currently, the 72/144-hour transit visa-free policy has been implemented for tourists from 54 countries and China also offers visa-free access to tourists from more than 15 countries.
