Beijing has built a set of services for foreign visitors on top of China’s general entry rules and payment systems. Most of them run through one platform, and almost none needs more than an app you may already have.
Prepare before you land
The municipal government says: “Even before you set foot in Beijing, you can make all preparations via two major online platforms.” They are the International Web Portal of Beijing and the GO BEIJING platform, which runs inside the international version of Alipay. If you have not linked a foreign card to Alipay yet, our Alipay setup guide covers it.
Once signed in to GO BEIJING, you can “simply register and sign in to access 39 services covering a diverse range of scenarios, with no need to download additional apps.” Registering before you fly has a reward: you can “claim in advance your gift package for traveling in Beijing, which contains various coupons for transportation, hotels, scenic attractions, and luggage storage.”
At the airport
Visitors who land unprepared can use a physical counter:
“you will find the ‘Beijing Service’ counters right at the international arrival exit. These counters offer over 20 most-requested services across four major categories.”
The source gives the number of services and categories but not what the four categories cover. Ask the counter staff.
Tap a bank card on the subway
The source states this as a first: “Beijing is the world’s first city where passengers can simply tap any of five major international bank cards to pass through subway gates.” It does not name the five networks, so try your card or confirm with a station before relying on it.
A wallet with no bank card
GO BEIJING also offers “the exclusive ‘Travel Wallet’ for foreign visitors, which does not require bank card linking and incurs no transaction fees for spending in Beijing.” It is open to visitors from 40 countries and regions, which the source does not list. It works like a prepaid balance inside the app, separate from tapping a linked card or paying through Alipay directly.
Instant tax refunds
Shopping tax refunds sit on the same platform: “you can enjoy the ‘one-tap’ instant tax refund service via ‘GO BEIJING’, with refunds credited to your account in as little as 2 minutes.” Two minutes is a best case, not a guarantee. The source does not say which stores are eligible or what minimum purchase qualifies.
If something goes wrong
The city runs a general channel for visitor questions: “You can visit the ‘12345 Online’ section on the International Web Portal of Beijing to leave messages in your preferred language. The platform currently supports 10 languages, including English, Korean, Japanese, German, French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, and Italian.”
The source does not say whether the 12345 hotline itself, as opposed to the online message option, is staffed in languages other than Chinese.