Getting Around Town (Chinese Phrases #1) - Airport Chinese

It’s all good knowing where you’re going and what you’re going to do in Beijing but being able to actually get yourself there is a different thing; especially since everything has been made to benefit the needs of the native Beijinger who speaks fluent Mandarin. Communication is essential for when you’re lost and when the 2RMB translated map isn’t sufficient for quick and easy navigation through the interconnected hutongs and bustling Chinese streets. I’ve been there, done that and am here to get you through those dark days by teaching you some of the most needed Chinese phrases for the average foreign traveller.

Just follow me on your journey to mastering my 4 Chinese Phrased: Getting Around Town lessons and you’ll be rendering all native speakers you come in contact with speechless with your ability to carry out conversations.

Help:

-          Click on the Chinese Character’s to hear the pronunciation and try to remember it as best as you can. In the case that you bring your phone to Beijing, the sound-file for each phrase is available to be downloaded.

-          Pinyin is the Chinese English system which dictates how the characters should be pronounced. To learn more about Pinyin, visit this link.

Arriving at the Airport

So, you’ve finally landed in Beijing after the extremely long flight from your native country {Or if you live relatively close to China then I’m sure it was very short in its entirety} and you’ve been stumped with your first challenge in Beijing: Getting around the airport and meeting that contact/taxi in order to check in to your hotel. Although since its international status was declared the owners of Beijing airport did try their best to accommodate to the needs of tourists, sometimes, the bare minimum isn’t enough.

Being a normal tourist, you’re going to have brought some luggage with you and are looking to pick it up. The problem is, ‘Where is the luggage claim area?’ The best person to ask this question to would be any official looking person who appears to be working in the airport.

The first rule when talking to someone in China: Be polite!

In China, politeness can get you a long way, a lot of bargains and a much more helpful person at your service!

So, firstly say: 请问！

This in Pinyin is: Qing wen!

In English, it means: Excuse me!

In Chinese: 行李领取处在哪儿？

This in Pinyin is: Xing li ling qu chu zai nar?

In English, it means: Where is the luggage claim area?

Once you’ve stopped an official worker and asked them this, they will most likely answer you eagerly and politely - but in Chinese. Most likely they’ll be telling you instructions or they might just tell you that they don’t know where it is, either way, knowing what these phrases sound like in Chinese will make it easy for you to know what’s going on.

Possible Reply: I don’t know.

Translation: 不知道.

This in Pinyin is: Bu zhi dao.

And you already know the English translation: I don’t know.

If they didn’t say anything which sounds remotely like that then it’s safe to think that they probably know where it is and are directing you there in Chinese. Since learning all of the directions in Chinese is quite time-consuming, let’s just learn how to ask them to take you there themselves.

So, to say, ‘Would you show me the way?’

In Chinese, you should say: 怎么走？

This in Pinyin is: Zen me zou?

And you already know the English translation: Would you show me the way?

A curt nod or a short ‘好/好的/好吧’ – Click the characters to hear the sound- may follow and in that case, you should start following the person until you get there. If they shake their head - which is highly unlikely - then you’ll have to find another person and follow the same routine until you reach success.

Once you’ve got there, remember to be polite and say, ‘Thank You,’ ‘谢谢 ’to your helper.

Now that you’ve got your luggage, it’s time to go through immigration control in which case, you should find another official worker like you did before but ask them the question,

: ‘Where is Immigration Control?’

In Chinese: 入境审批在那儿？

This in Pinyin is: Ru jing shen pi zai nar?

In English, this is: Where is Immigration Control?

Like before, listen closely for the replies and ask if they can take you there. Say thank you and you’re done!

(Beware, getting through immigration can take hours considering the time at which flights have arrived, the length of the lines and the amount of staff on duty.)

Leaving the Airport is a completely different story considering the different types of transportation available in Beijing. We’ll talk about that daunting challenge next time on Getting around Town (Chinese Phrases #2) - Transport Chinese.

Any questions, just drop a line!