8.5 hour wait in Beijing Airport

Isabel, you don’t need to apply for an entry permit. But you may be required to apply for a temporary stay permit at the airport if you want to leave the airport. You should contact with the airlines and see if it will delivers your luggage to the final destination. If yes, you don’t need to collect your luggage. If not, you need to collect by yourself and then re-checking-in.

Because you just have 8.5 hours in Beijing, I’m afraid it’s very difficult for you to travel to the downtown area because the journey time between the airport and the city center will be around 4 hours or so. And you need to go to the airport at least 2 hours earlier before the plane takes off. So you are advised to travel around the airport.