Beijing’s subway system is pretty big – at 830km it’s the longest in the world by route length as of 2023 – and it’s pretty busy, especially at a few particular transfer stations.
Five Beijing subway interchange stations were recently outlined in a video by Beijing Daily, ranked from least busy to busiest by ridership numbers from the beginning of the year.
You can find said list below, all ranked accordingly, and use it to plan your next subway trip so as to avoid a transfer from hell.
#5 – National Library tation (国家图书馆站 Guójiātúshūguǎn Zhàn)
Connecting Lines 16, 9, and 4, National Library station saw about 116,000 daily transfers in the month of August. Considering all lines cutting through this transfer point were built at different times, it’s a bit of a hassle getting through to where you need to be. Then again, following the signs and people might be enough in the city’s fifth-busiest transfer station.
#4 – Huixin Xijie Nankou Station (惠新西街南口站 Huìxīnxījiē Nánkǒu Zhàn)
This interchange station, which connects Lines 5 and 10, is one of the easier ones to use of the bunch, with just a quick walk up or down the stairs – or an escalator ride – to get to either line. That being said, it saw a daily transfer volume of nearly 126,000 people last month, making this ride up or down no cakewalk during peak hours.
#3 – Hujialou Station (呼家楼站 Hūjiālóu Zhàn)
Just like the East 3rd Ring Road Interchange above it, this interchange station connecting Lines 6 and 10 has a lot of traffic. Roughly 156,000 passengers transferred through Hujialou each day in the month of August, using its eight transfer points to get from one line to the next, and clogging up both lines’ thin platforms during rush hour.
#2 – Xizhimen Station (西直门站 Xīzhímén Zhàn)
Xizhimen Station connects Lines 2, 4, and 13, and sits on the northwest corner of the 2nd Ring Road. While the transfer between the elevated Line 13 to the other two lines is notoriously long – with escalators to help passengers along at some points – getting between Lines 2 and 4 is a breeze as the latter utilizes a platform underneath Line 2.
That being said, it’s not at the number two spot on this list without reason: Around 165,000 daily passengers transferred at Xizhimen in August.
#1 – Songjiazhuang Station (宋家庄站 Sòngjiāzhuāng Zhàn)
Finally, coming in at number one, it’s Songjiazhuang station, which connects Lines 5 and 10 with the Yizhuang Line. The platforms for all three lines are on the same floor, making for a circus at all times of day in the transfer hall. Around 184,000 passengers transferred daily through Songjiazhuang last month, earning this station a comfortable spot at the tippy top. In other words, avoid it unless you absolutely must use it.
For more on how to use these transfer stations, transportation expert David Feng has a WeChat post on just that. Do you use any of these transfer stations to get to where you need to be on a daily basis? What’s it like? Let us know in the comments!
READ: Please Get Ready for Your Arrival: Huixin Xijie Nankou Station
Images: Unsplash, the Beijingers, David Feng
