The first step: Before departure, prepare in advance and enjoy the convenience before you arrive.
Before you even set foot in Beijing, you can make all preparations in advance through the two major online platforms.
Open the Beijing International Version Portal, which has full coverage of ten languages: English, Korean, Japanese, German, French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, and Italian. You can easily access information in your mother tongue. The newly upgraded "Travel in Beijing" section of the website has five major columns: Enjoying Beijing, Traveling in Beijing, Accompanying Beijing, Food in Beijing, and Essentials for Coming to Beijing. From preparations before entry, landing instructions, to full-scenario guides for food, accommodation, travel, shopping and entertainment in Beijing, the one-stop package is presented to help tourists plan every trip in advance. If you are coming to Beijing for business or study, there are also clear service guides here so that tourists can have a clear idea of the various procedures.
At the same time, in order to further facilitate foreign friends coming to Beijing, the Beijing Municipal Administration of Services and Data has joined forces with Alipay to create a one-stop comprehensive service platform "GO BEIJING" jointly created by the Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce, Beijing Municipal Taxation Bureau and other departments. Remember to find it on the international version of Alipay. You can unlock 39 full-scenario services with one-click registration and login. It supports free switching of 16 languages including Chinese, English, Russian, Korean and Arabic, without the need to download multiple additional apps. Receive the "Visit Beijing Gift Pack" in advance and get various coupons for travel, hotels, attractions, luggage storage, etc. directly, so you can save as much as you can. The AI intelligent agent "Jingjing" can also help tourists plan their itinerary, book tickets, and provide AI escort services, making their trip to Beijing more worry-free.
Step 2: When you land at the first stop at the airport, services will be in place immediately
When tourists take international flights and arrive at the international arrivals exit of Capital International Airport or Daxing International Airport, they can see "Beijing Service (Airport Service Point)" at a glance. This is the first service station when entering Beijing. It has more than 20 high-frequency services under four major themes, allowing tourists to enjoy convenience upon landing and quickly adapt to the new environment.
Worried about the language barrier? The service point is equipped with multi-lingual visual intelligent translation equipment, allowing smooth communication no matter which language tourists speak. Need communication services? You can apply for a mobile phone SIM card on site and say goodbye to the anxiety of not having a network connection. Want to solve a payment problem? There are mobile payment APP downloads, payment consultation and other services here to help tourists quickly open payment channels in Beijing. Heading into the city? You can directly enjoy a variety of transportation services. You must know that Beijing is the first city in the world to support the "snap card through the gate" with five major international cards. You can directly take the subway by swiping the foreign card, which is very convenient for travel. Want to know more about Beijing cultural tourism? The staff will provide tourists with attraction ticket reservations and route consultation services, and can also receive a special "Beijing Welcomes You" gift pack, which contains promotional leaflets for various cultural, sports and business activities, allowing tourists to quickly understand the city.
It is worth mentioning that there are promotional material placement points, light boxes and video displays along the entire entry route for tourists to disembark, clear customs, and collect baggage. The location and various services of the service points are informed in advance, making it easy to find the help you need. Since its operation on January 1, 2025, the airport service point has operated smoothly and efficiently, and has provided consultation and service services to approximately 1.97 million Chinese and foreign passengers. More and more foreign friends have experienced the friendliness and convenience of Beijing here.
Step 3: When in Beijing, full scene coverage, convenience everywhere
During your stay in Beijing, whether it is for entertainment, consumption, work, or daily life, all kinds of convenient services can accurately match the needs of tourists and make them feel at home.
[Safe travel] The "GO BEIJING" platform is a "travel assistant" in Beijing. The "Explore Beijing" area will recommend Beijing's special attractions, performances and exhibitions, sports events and cultural and creative products to tourists. Following the travel guide shared by the international interest community, you can quickly get to know Beijing and feel the charm of Beijing. The "Beijing Service" area updates policy interpretations, city event calendars, travel guides in real time, and can directly connect to the 12345 hotline. If you have any questions, you can ask for help at any time.
[Worry-free payment] No longer have to worry about small purchases. Alipay and China Construction Bank jointly launched the "Travel Wallet" on the "GO BEIJING" platform, specially created for foreign friends. There is no need to bind a card, there are no handling fees for domestic consumption, the payment speed is fast, and it covers a wide range of scenarios. Visitors only need to open an account through "GO BEIJING" and remit consumption funds through cross-border remittances, and then they can easily spend in Beijing. It is very convenient to buy Chinese specialties, eat special snacks, and take buses and subways. Currently, it supports registration for tourists from 40 countries and regions.
[Cost-effective Shopping] When shopping in Beijing's instant and refund stores, you can also enjoy the "touch" one-click tax refund service by using "GO BEIJING". Open "GO BEIJING", touch the tax refund card on your phone, and the tax refund will arrive in your account in as fast as 2 minutes. Whether you pay by credit card, cash or WeChat, you can apply for tax refund, which greatly improves the shopping experience.
[Efficient service] Beijing has also created a considerate, easy-to-use, zero-barrier city service portal for foreign friends in Beijing - the English version of the "Jingtong" APP. The mobile phone operating system is set to English. When you open the APP, it will automatically switch to the English version. Once you upload a passport photo, your identity information will be automatically recognized. There is no need to fill it in manually. The login is convenient and efficient. The APP has access to more than 30 popular services such as appointment registration, English maps, and phone card application appointments. It has also created guides for six major scenarios: investment, work, study, life, travel, and consumption. The work process is clear at a glance, making it easy to handle major and minor matters in Beijing. The platform has also launched a city calendar, updating information on various city activities in real time, along with practical life guidelines and policy toolkits, allowing tourists to grasp the latest developments in Beijing at the first time. Currently, the platform is still building an English translation function. In the future, it can realize automatic translation of Chinese services and information in the APP, making more digital services within reach.
Step 4: If there is a demand, mother tongue feedback, closed loop and efficient solution
During your stay in Beijing, if you encounter problems, need consultation, or want to make suggestions, there is no need to panic. Open the "12345Online" column of the Beijing International Portal, and visitors can leave messages directly online in their native language, which covers ten languages including English, Korean, Japanese, German, French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, and Italian. All messages will be directly transferred to Beijing's immediate complaint handling process, which will be solved by the division of labor and efficient coordination between relevant units, forming a closed loop of the whole process of "leave messages - transfer - processing - feedback" to respond to reasonable demands in a timely manner, giving tourists a greater sense of belonging when living, working, and traveling in Beijing.
As the trip to Beijing comes to an end, I hope that tourists can easily embark on their return trip with the beautiful memories of Beijing. In the future, Beijing will continue to adhere to the best standards and international perspective, continue to deepen the reform of service facilitation for overseas personnel, continue to optimize the functions of the integrated service platform, improve the full-chain, all-round, and full-coverage international service system, and use more efficient, more convenient, and more heart-warming services to enable every foreign friend to fall in love with Beijing and remember Beijing, making this international exchange center’s business card even more shining.
Source: Released by Beijing, according to the Municipal Affairs and Data Bureau, Capital Window
Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/RtrIjP8EqkocV9vncneAiA