Traveling on the Beijing subway system is cheap and crowded but you still have to love it. If you are a true Beijinger, you’ve learned the ropes of the subway system and busy crowds don’t bother you as it once did. You also realize lining up or waiting your turn does not really happen and when the doors open, you try your best to squish on the subway train with every other person before letting people off the train first. Welcome to China!
I’m located near Wudaokou station (in yellow below) where many of Beijing’s biggest universities are located on the outskirts of Beijing. The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square are located in the heart of Beijing (circled in red). The Forbidden City is considered the very center of everything and all else expands outward from there. It takes about an hour to get from Wudaokou to downtown. I attend church near Liufang station which is opposite of me at the other end of the orange line. This also usually takes about an hour for me to get to church.
Anytime from 4:30pm to 9:00pm you can expect subway stations to be crowded. You have to know where you are going, move fast and be aggressive. Also, I try not to touch anything.
