# Leaving Beijing: Your Departure Day Plan for PEK and PKX > How early to leave, which airport you are actually flying from, what Chinese security confiscates, and how to fit a tax refund into the schedule. _Category: transport · Reading time: 8 min read_ Departure day is the one day in Beijing you cannot improvise. Turning up at the wrong airport, packing a power bank into your checked bag, or discovering that a tax refund needs another forty minutes can each cost you the flight. This is the mirror image of our arrival guide: how to work out which airport you are actually leaving from, how early to go, what Chinese security really takes off you, and what is worth settling the night before. ## Start from the departure time and work backwards The usual rule for international departures from Beijing is to be at the terminal two and a half to three hours before the flight, and about two hours for domestic. But that clock starts at the terminal, not at your hotel door, so the real calculation is terminal time + the ride + a buffer. From central Beijing the ride to PEK is roughly 40 to 60 minutes by car in normal traffic and 60 to 90 minutes in the morning or evening rush. PKX sits far to the south, so add another 20 to 40 minutes from most central locations. Then add a buffer: 30 minutes is the minimum, an hour if you have a tax refund to claim or you are leaving during a holiday peak. A 14:00 international flight out of PEK realistically means leaving the hotel around 10:00, not 11:30. ## PEK — Capital Airport The Airport Express is the most predictable option. Trains run from Dongzhimen and Sanyuanqiao to Terminals 2 and 3, take about 30 minutes end to end from the city, and cost roughly ¥25 to ¥35 (check the fare posted on the day). First and last trains run around 06:00 to 23:00, so it does not help with very early or late flights. It is comfortable with luggage and immune to traffic, but you still have to reach Dongzhimen or Sanyuanqiao first. A taxi or Didi is door to door and is the only sensible choice before about 06:30 or with heavy bags — expect roughly ¥100 to ¥160 from central and eastern Beijing depending on traffic. Book it the night before if you fly before 08:00. - Metro: Airport Express from Dongzhimen / Sanyuanqiao to Terminals 2 and 3 - Opening hours: First and last trains roughly 06:00 to 23:00 (confirm the current timetable) - Tickets: Airport Express about ¥25 to ¥35 per trip (confirm) - How long: About 30 to 40 minutes to the terminals from the city ## PKX — Daxing Airport Daxing is a long way south of the old centre, which makes the express train genuinely quick and the road journey genuinely long. The Daxing Airport Express reaches Caoqiao on Line 10 in about 19 minutes for roughly ¥35, and from there it is a normal metro ride to the rest of the city. By road, allow 60 to 90 minutes from central Beijing and more in rush hour. If you are based in the south — including KOULING Donggaodi — PKX is often the nearer of the two airports and the drive can come in under an hour. - Metro: Daxing Airport Express to Caoqiao (Line 10), about 19 minutes - Opening hours: First and last trains roughly 06:00 to 23:00 (confirm the current timetable) - Tickets: Airport Express about ¥35 (confirm) - How long: About 60 to 90 minutes by road from central Beijing ## Choosing how to get there Four options, and the right one depends on your flight time, how much you are carrying and where you slept: - **Metro / Airport Express** — Cheapest and immune to traffic, but only useful between roughly 06:00 and 23:00, and awkward with more than one large bag. - **Taxi or Didi** — Door to door, best for early flights or heavy luggage. Budget roughly ¥100 to ¥160 to PEK from central and eastern Beijing, more to PKX. - **A car booked through your hotel** — Fixed price agreed in advance, no app and no Chinese phone number needed. Worth it for any departure before 08:00. - **Airport coach** — Cheaper than a taxi and runs on set city routes, but slower and less predictable. Only sensible if you are already near one of its stops. ## A sample departure morning (14:00 international flight) Working backwards from the flight, this is roughly how the morning should look: 1. 09:30 — **Check out and load the bags** — Keep your passport, boarding pass and power bank in your cabin bag, not in the suitcase. 2. 10:00 — **Leave for the airport** — Car booked the night before. Allow 60 to 90 minutes to PEK in daytime traffic. 3. 11:15 — **Arrive and confirm the terminal** — PEK uses Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 for different airlines and they are not walkable from each other. 4. 11:30 — **Sort the tax refund first** — The desk needs the goods, the forms and your passport, so do this before you check bags in. 5. 12:15 — **Check in and drop luggage** — Counters commonly close 45 to 60 minutes before departure — check what your airline specifies. 6. 12:30 — **Security and exit border control** — Power bank out of the bag, liquids in containers of 100 ml or less, passport and boarding pass in hand. 7. 13:00 — **An hour of airside buffer** — Eat, buy water after security, and find the gate without sprinting. ## At the terminal: what is different in China Two things catch visitors out. The first is batteries: Chinese security is stricter about them than most countries. Power banks must travel in the cabin and never in checked luggage, and they need a legible capacity marking in Wh or mAh. Anything above roughly 100 Wh normally needs airline approval and larger units are refused outright, so read the number printed on yours before you pack it. The second is liquids: the standard 100 ml per container rule applies, and they go in a resealable bag. After that the process is familiar — passport and boarding pass at security, then exit border control, where you may be asked a brief question about where you stayed and how long you visited. ## What actually gets confiscated If you remember one list, remember this one: - **Power banks with no readable capacity label** — Worn or unmarked units are simply taken. Buy a branded one if the printing has rubbed off. - **Lighters and matches** — Expect these to be removed from both cabin and checked bags. - **Anything over 100 ml of liquid** — Including the half-finished bottle of water you bought in the city. - **Drones and their batteries** — Beijing has tight rules on flying them and airlines treat the batteries as lithium cells — read our drone guide before you pack one. - **Blades and multi-tools** — Pocket knives, multi-tools and anything blade-like belong in checked luggage. ## The tax refund: give it an extra hour If you bought from Tax Free shops and plan to reclaim VAT, this is the most underestimated step of the day. You need the refund forms, your passport, your boarding pass and — critically — the goods themselves, because staff may ask to see them before they stamp anything. Travelling with them unworn, unpacked and in your cabin bag is the safe way. The desk is usually before security, and the refund itself is then collected airside or paid out later depending on the scheme, so add 30 to 60 minutes on top of everything else. Our tax refund guide covers the rates and minimums; the point here is simply that a refund does not fit inside a tight schedule. ## Left luggage and last-minute shopping Both airports have staffed left-luggage counters and, in places, self-service lockers, so spending your last afternoon in the city is realistic if you can drop your bags first — prices are posted at the counter and scale with size and hours. If you are buying tea, silk or liquor, do it after security: liquids bought airside are sealed in a tamper-evident bag and are exempt from the 100 ml rule, while the same bottle bought in the city will be taken from you at the checkpoint. Keep receipts for anything valuable in case exit customs asks. ## The night before: a 20-minute checklist Nearly everything that goes wrong on departure day was fixable the previous evening. Confirm the airport code on your ticket — PEK and PKX are around 60 km apart and flights are not interchangeable. Charge every device and check that your power bank still has a legible capacity label. Screenshot your booking reference, your hotel address in Chinese, and the airline check-in page. Weigh your suitcase, move anything fragile or dutiable into your cabin bag, and set two alarms. Then ask the front desk to book your car for the morning, because arranging a Didi at 5am is the last thing you want to be doing on departure day. ## Related Beijing guides If you found this useful, these cover the next question most visitors ask: - **Transport** — /guides/saving-planning-places-beijing-amap-offline/ - **Payments** — /guides/china-tax-refund/ ## Departure-day checklist - **Check the airport code** — PEK or PKX — about 60 km apart, and not interchangeable. - **Screenshot everything** — Booking reference, hotel address in Chinese, airline check-in page. - **Charge devices, check the power bank label** — Unmarked batteries are confiscated; power banks ride in the cabin only. - **Book the car the night before** — Essential for flights before 08:00 — just ask the hotel front desk. - **Keep tax-refund goods within reach** — You may have to show them at the refund desk. - **Carry an empty bottle, fill it airside** — Anything over 100 ml bought in the city will not pass security. ## Where to stay **KOULING Ruiyue Hotel** — 5m from Guogongzhuang Metro Station · 9.6/10 · US$26 View hotel: https://12001.net/hotels/ruiyue/ Leaving is easier from a base that is already on the metro. KOULING Ruiyue is 5 metres from Guogongzhuang Station (Line 9 / Fangshan Line), one transfer from the Airport Express at Sanyuanqiao and on a direct Line 10 run toward Caoqiao for the Daxing express. The front desk registers foreign passport holders on the spot, accepts international cards, and will book your departure car the night before. ## Where to stay **KOULING Hotel Beijing Donggaodi** — 7 min walk to Wufutang Metro Station (Line 8) · 9.4/10 · US$19 View hotel: https://12001.net/hotels/donggaodi/ If you are flying out of Daxing, spend your last night in the south. KOULING Donggaodi is a 7-minute walk from Wufutang Station on Line 8 and often under an hour by road to PKX, with free Wi-Fi, free laundry and parking, rooms from US$19 and a 9.4/10 rating. Ask the front desk for a fixed-price car to the airport and you remove the last variable from departure morning. --- Source: https://12001.net/guides/beijing-departure-day-guide/ © KOULING Hotels