Beijing Pass

Beijing Pass is a transportation card with some shopping function. It should be available at T2 T3 and Daxing Airport subway stations. Beijing Pass is a copycat of Shanghai Pass. Shanghai Pass is another Shanghai City Tour Card, which was started be sold since May of this Year under a new name.

Xinhua News released Beijing Pass' promotion video yesterday on the net.

Beijing Pass seems to be another disappointment. Beijing City advertised that foreigner's problems are completely solved, but their efforts are not good enough again. They said that user can top up this card with Silkpass App anywhere, but it requires registration. Like many other things in China, you need Chinese phone number to do so.

In my opinion, temporary visitors shouldn't use Chinese SIM card with Chinese phone number for registration purposes. Phone number is a second ID number and it can cause troubles later visits to China. Changing phone numbers can be headache.

Overall, Beijing Pass is a sign that Beijing City is willing to sell transportation card to foreigners. They are trying to improve conditions for foreigners

I recommend buying a transportation card for traveling in China. If you buy it from a major city, you don't need registration to use it. You can use it in most of China T-Union member cities if you have enough balance. Make sure yor card has China T-Union logo. Recent editions of Beijing City's Yikatongs has China T Union logo, that includes Beijing Pass.

I used SilkPass and paid for a digital Beijing Pass (with T-Union) using my Alipay account. Once payment goes through, Beijing Pass shows up in my Apple Wallet. I did this on 8/23. In SilkPass, I see option to top-up (Recharge)

Beijing City's attemp to solve the problem with an app is a failure. There are so many problems to solve, it is really difficult for them to continue on.

Letting foreign temporary visitors to use Alipay and Wechat Pay to top up transportation card has some legal issues.

Letting people to register with foreign phone number is too complex for a small institution. With emails, many foreign email servers are blocked by the Chinese Government.

Beijing City's transportation card issuing institution is classified as government related entity, so their internet content is blocked again, it is impossible to access from outside China, also people with roaming services cannot access either.

Idea of letting people to top up transportation card with foreign card don't make sense, either. Who's going to pay for handling fees?

Another English article about Beijing Pass is posted on the net yesterday. It has a list of shops and tourist attractions that accept Beijing Pass as a payment method.

It also has a list of sales locations. Nothing new there. T2 T3 of Capital Airport, Daxing Airport, subway stations for 7 major railway stations of Beijing. Subway station for Beijing Chaoyang Station is still under construction, so nearby subway stations handle Yikatongs, but not Beijing Pass yet. It would be better to buy transportation card with China T-Union from other major cities of China if you're arriving Beijing later than other Chinese cities.