My wife and I landed at Beijing Daxing International Airport, and the first thing I noticed was how empty it was. No crowds, no jostling, just a lot of very big, very quiet terminal. And the first stop after a long flight is always the same one, so let me start there: the toilet. It's a cute one. There's a little goal post at the bottom of the urinal to help you aim, and the ball actually moves when you hit it. Someone in Beijing clearly thought hard about this, and I respect it.
On the long walk towards customs, the wall along the travelator is lined with paintings, which I believe are replicas of pieces from the museum. I didn't expect an airport corridor to make me want to go to a museum, but it did, and I'm now keen to go and see the real ones.
A little further on you reach an area with a row of machines for registering your fingerprints, a bit like in Japan. Everyone was there dutifully trying to do it, and none of the machines worked. We all stood there poking at screens until a staff member eventually came over and told us they weren't working. So please do not be fooled!!! Walk past and save yourself the ten minutes.
At the baggage belt, the staff help arrange the luggage nicely as it comes out, so the bags were all lined up neatly instead of piling into each other. Small thing, but a nice touch after a flight.
To get into the city we decided to hop on a cab. If you're using Didi instead, just follow the signs and cross to the other side of the aisle. I'd read online that the two are about the same, but I can tell you taking the cab was a mistake. The Didi experience is so much better, with better service, and that's what I'd do next time.
Our first hotel is at Xianyukou (鲜鱼口), a touristy walking street near Qianmen. There's no drop-off at the door, so you get dropped across the street, cross over and walk about three to five minutes with your bags. It's totally manageable, and nowhere near as scary as some people online make it out to be.
The hotel is 花间堂 Blossom House Tiananmen, right on Xianyukou Street, and the entrance is easy to spot once you're on the pedestrian stretch.
They allow early check-in, which was a big plus because we arrived at around 9am, and there was welcome tea at the counter while we got sorted.
The room is decently spacious. We were on level 3, the highest floor, which gave us a view over the old grey-tiled roofs, and that's a very Beijing thing to wake up to.
The bathroom has a freestanding tub and a rain shower. The water pressure is decent, not the best I've had but not bad either.
There's an in-room tea set, and the minibar is free flow, which is always my favourite two words in a hotel room. Cleanliness is okay; my wife, who is the stricter judge on this, gives it 3.5 out of 5. They also do free laundry pickup, another plus, and there's a 24-hour gym, though it's small, with two treadmills and some free weights.
That's the first stretch of Day 1 done, from the plane to the room. Next up, the rest of the day around this side of town.
Hotel: 花间堂 Blossom House Tiananmen (北京天安门花间堂·御道)
Address: No. 79 Xianyukou Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing (北京市东城区鲜鱼口街79号)
