Layover in Beijing

[kingart55]

We are flying to Singapore and have 9 hours between flights in Beijing.

Can we and is there time to go into the city by subway without a visa.

We have been there before and know the subway is easy to use.

[Omega1]

I doubt you would be allowed to leave the airport (ie go through immigration) without a visa.

[Globaliser]

I doubt you would be allowed to leave the airport (ie go through immigration) without a visa.

Do you have a source for this?

 

What I get from Timatic suggests the opposite:-

National USA (US)               /Embarkation USA (US)
Transit China (People's Rep.) (CN)
Destination Singapore (SG)      
ALSO CHECK DESTINATION INFORMATION BELOW

China (People's Rep.) (CN)

TWOV (Transit Without Visa):
Visa required, except for Holders of confirmed onward airline
tickets for a max. transit [url="https://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_client.cgi?ExpertMode=TIRULES/R32&user=KLMB2C&subuser=KLMB2C"]For details, click here[/url] time of 24 hours.
Transit incl. multiple stops within China (People's Rep.),
with a total transit time of max. 24 hours, is permitted.  
- Not applicable at Fuzhou (FOC) and Yanji (YNJ).
- Nationals of USA are not permitted to use the multiple-stop
  transit within China, if transiting through Tianjin (TSN),
  Weihai (WEH), Wuhan (WUH), Xi'an (XIY) or Zhengzhou (CGO). 
- Visa required, except for Nationals of USA holding confirmed
 onward airline tickets to a third country, provided arriving
 in and departing from the same city: 
- at Beijing (PEK), Chongqing (CKG), Guangzhou (CAN),
  Hangzhou (HGH), Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA), Shanghai Pudong
  (PVG) or Xi'an (XIY) for a max. transit time of 72 hours,
  starting from 00:01 on the day following the day of entry. 
- at Chengdu (CTU), Dalian (DLC), Guilin (KWL), Kunming (KMG)
  or Shenyang (SHE) for a max. transit time of 72 hours; 
- All transiting passengers are subject to a check by
 immigration officials. Passengers in transit are required to
 hold passports or passport replacing documents that are
 accepted for entry into China (People's Rep.). For more
 details on document requirements, please enter China
 (People's Rep.) as a destination. 
- Leaving the transit area is allowed.  
- Transit without visa (TWOV) is not applicable for travel
 between USA and Guam.

[Shorex]

Details on the 72 hour "transit without a visa" can be found here.

 

Read carefully -- there may be hoops for jumping.

 

Word to the wise - never "assume" anything about visas. What was true in the recent past may have been changed yesterday. Only rely on official sources - Timatic is what the airlines use when making decisions about whether to allow you on a flight. So I count Timatic as "official."

Edited March 19, 2015 by Shorex

[Omega1]

Do you have a source for this?

 

My source is that two years ago a member of my family (full UK passport holder) was denied entry as part of a 14 hour layover in Beijing. They were surprised, as they had read all about visa free transit - but on the day, it wasn't possible.

[1982CruzStart]

My nephew traveling on a Canadian passport did a layover in Beijing about a year ago and he was able to leave the airport and tour for the hours of the layover with out a visa. Had no problems at all.

Good luck.

[TravelMore&More]

Of course you can. A ton of people take advantage of the visa free transit every day. There is a special counter for it at immigration.

Whether it is worth going to town depends on the time of the day of your transit. Understand that the airport Express ends at about 10pm.

People who have no idea about the visa rule for China should avoid commenting and misleading posters. Visa -free transits have been in place forever and the 72-hours + visa free transit has been available for quite some time now, if you meet the requirements.

Here is a good although a bit outdated article about it: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g294211-c188665/China:Visa.Free.Transits.html

Edited March 20, 2015 by TravelMore&More

[Omega1]

People who have no idea about the visa rule for China should avoid commenting and misleading posters.

 

Thank you for your kind words! You will note that my post started with 'I doubt..', hardly a definitive statement. My comment is based on the experience of my cousin in 2013. He was denied entry on the visa free transit - no reason.

I trust the OP will have better luck.

[kingart55]

Thanks. I thought I read about the visa free entry.

Have plenty of time to decide whether to go in or not.