Reading Bus Routes
Part of the Travel section of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s Practical A–Z
Some bus routes have prefixes and suffixes in Chinese characters. Occasionally, and mostly on out-of-town trips, there may be more than one bus with the same number, and then it’s important to board the one with the Chinese characters given, and no other.
路 (lù) is the standard character for bus route and so is often omitted here: b 8 and b 8路, are the same thing.
Sometimes the characters may appear together appear in various combinations.
北京 Běijīng: the standard prefix for the capital’s buses, to differentiate them from routes within outlying districts. Only occasionally shown on signs and omitted in this book
昌, 房, 兴, 顺, 密 Prefixes for buses that run within or from the districts Chāngpíng, Fángshān, Dàxīng, Shùnyì, and Mìyún respectively
运通 Yùntōng: Prefix used by the suburban Běijīng Xiánglóng Bus Company
路 lù: as a suffix, the standard term for bus route, omitted in this book
线 xiàn: line, an alternative for lù
电车 diànchē: electric trolley bus
旅游专线 lǚyóu zhuānxiàn: special tour bus
专 zhuān: special
特 tè: special (usually double-decker)
快车 kuàichē: express
慢车 mànchē: slow or frequent stops
快速公交 kuàisù gōngjiāo: buses in special dedicated lanes, as fast as the metro, also marked BRT
摆站 bǎi zhàn: bus that connects with one or more metro stations or follows a metro route
机场 jīchǎng: airport bus
支线 zhīxiàn: branch line
区间 qūjiān: only travelling part of the route
段 duàn segment of route, usually preceded by 东 dōng, 南 nán, 西 xī, or 北 běi (east, south, west, or north)
环行 huánxíng: circle route
外环 wàihuán: outer ring/anti-clockwise
内环 nèihuán: inner ring/clockwise
空调 kōngtiáo: air-conditioned
夜 yè: night bus
At long-distance bus stations
小巴 xiǎo bā: minibus
中巴 zhōng bā: small bus
大巴 dà bā: full-size bus
豪华 háohuá: luxury
Return to Travel Around the City
Next in Travel: Exit Formalities
Previous entry: Arrival and Travel into Town
Index of Practical A–Z
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.
