I don't speak Chinese. Will I encounter any problems going through customs in Beijing?

10/7/2016 1:42:11 PM

Although I have never entered Beijing, I got through PEK several times as a transit. In my experience you can just use English and it has no problems at all.

PEK is one of the largest international airports in the world and I’m sure that if you exclude passangers from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, at least 80% people that are going to get through the immigration or customs don’t speak Chinese.

In fact I don’t believe there exists an international airport that doesn’t have enough officers who speak English.

However, be assured that sometimes they have slightly awkward accents (from American standards).

10/7/2016 10:31:31 AM

I (and friends) went through Chinese immigration (where they check your visa/passport) and customs (where they check whether you have stuff to declare) a handful of times and my experience is:

They are aware of potential language barriers and prepared to handle those.

In practice that means you encounter a pretty efficient operation where the officials either speak enough English to communicate with you or direct you with signs to where you should go (i.e. “wait here in line” or “place your luggage on this belt for the customs x-ray”). I would not be worried about this part of the journey and especially Beijing airport is used to accommodate international travelers. It helps to be prepared and have the details of your onward flight ready and of your accommodation.

You might also take interest in the gist of the discussion here:
Should I address customs/immigration in their language when I can?

10/6/2016 11:28:32 PM

It’s unlikely that you would encounter problems solely due to a language barrier. In my (limited) experience, border officials in China (at major international airports) speak English well enough to do their job with English-only passengers. Also, since you already need to get a Chinese visa for your trip, the hard work has mostly been done. Your interaction with the border official will probably not be more than nod, check photograph, check visa, stamp, done.

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About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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