Car Rental Beijing

Driving in Beijing can be quite complicated, language difficulties included, coupled with seemingly perpetual traffic jams. Many hotels, however, rent cars that come with drivers, for those who can afford it, up to ¥1000 per day. Nevertheless, public transport will get you to most of the main tourist sites, and you should use them as your primary mode of transport.

You are not permitted to drive a car using the driver license issued by countries other than China. Even Hong Kong and Macau licenses are considered to be foreign and are not accepted. But for short visa holders (< 3 months), it is possible to get a provisional driver's license at the PEK airport or the transportation police stations in the city in minutes. You need to provide your passport as well as your foreign driver's license, and do a small examination(just to confirm you don't have physical or visual disability that effect the driving security), then you can get the provisional driver's license in minutes. With this license, you can legally drive cars in China. Ask any information desk at the airport for the direction of applying such a provisional driver's license.

At the arrival hall(maybe domestic only) of T2, PEK airport, you can find the counters of many car rental companies, but their English is usually not good. You had better contact them in advance by phone.

Here is an incomplete list of car rental companies serving at the PEK airport:

* China Auto Rental [7], Tel: (+86) 400 616 6666
* Top One CN [8], Tel:(+86) 4006 788 588
* Avis also operates a car-rental service in Beijing.

The daily rate of smaller economic cars is about ¥200 to ¥300. You need to deposit around ¥3000 (possible by using CUP/VISA/MasterCard credit card).