The Capital Airport in Beijing is a great facility. Terminal 3 is the newest and it reminds me of the Hong Kong Airport. Air Canada and most of the other Star Alliance carriers use this terminal. Unlike Pearson Airport in Toronto, there are no signs going in to tell you which airline is in which terminal so I advise you to check into this before leaving for the airport. The terminal is similar as well to Atlanta inasmuch as it has a small train taking you from the arrival gate to the Customs area. This too is very efficient and results in less walking, which is welcome after a 13 hour flight.

Since the Olympics, there is a fast and efficient subway link from the Beijing airport to the Dongzhimen subway station in the northeast area of downtown on subway line #2. The Beijing subway is very efficient and if you only have a small amount of luggage (or just carry-on), this is the fastest way to go to the airport depending on the time of day and weather.  I do NOT recommend it if you have a lot of luggage as there are some stairs involved.

While the use of English is growing in Beijing, and elsewhere in China, you should always have a printout of the name of your hotel in zhonghwen (Chinese characters) to show the taxi driver at the airport. For example, the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Wangfujing Street is the "Wangfujing Huang Guan Jia Ri" so unless you know this, saying the Crowne Plaza, may not be understood.

Beijing has 67,000 legal taxis however, please be aware that when it is raining or at 5 pm anywhere in the downtown core, it is almost impossible to find one. Therefore, if you need to get one to go to an important meeting at this time, make some arrangements in advance. It can be frustrating.  Shanghai is about the same by the way.  One more thing about Beijing taxis; most of them are Hyundai Elantras, so it is two people with luggage maximum. Why Elantras? I think it is part to that fact that Hyundai has a plant in northeast Beijing.

The one thing that is great about Beijing is that the city has ring roads and is well laid out. I think it is easy to get around (except at 5 pm).  It has always been one of my favorite cities in China because it has so much history and character and has retained much of it, despite ongoing urban renewal and development.

Finally, Beijing has a few ex-pat spots to eat when you feel a longing for western food. San Li Tun is an area famous for its western eateries, as is Chaoyang District. In fact Chaoyang District is a popular living area for ex-pats and as such that area too boasts many good western restaurants.