Big Lines at Beijing Immigration, Fire on the Airport Express, and Hail Damages a Dreamliner

It's been a bit of an unsettling week for travelers in Beijing.

On Monday, your writer saw the longest lines ever at Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA)'s immigration area. It's tough to complain – lines for non-US citizens or green card holders at US airports, specifically San Francisco International Airport, are despicable, so I have a feeling that there may be some quid pro quo at work.

It did make me think though – instead of building the biggest airport in the world, maybe it's time China starts thinking about building the best? With all the nonsense about innovation in this country, and the seeming sea of money that is available for public works, maybe that time has come.

Anyway, there must be some science to choosing the arrival times of one's flights in order to land at a time when immigration lines are shortest. This would take into consideration the number of other international flights that are landing around the same time, and also the nature of those flights – there's a big difference between short-haul flights using smaller aircraft, and landing at about the same time as an A380 or a 747. Anybody done any work on this?

I was ruing the decision to take a taxi into town while inching through a bit of traffic on the Airport Expressway, when I caught a glimpse of a smoking Airport Express car stopped on the tracks. It appeared to be either burning or overheating, later confirmed to be burning. Airport Express service was disrupted for quite a while. Suddenly I was pleased with my original decision. Be careful riding the rails.

An American Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for Dallas-Fort Worth as part of that airline's relatively new service there was pelted by hail and forced to return to Beijing. Hmm. Hail? Beijing? That's new and different.

Be safe out there while traveling. If you're tired of Beijing weather, consider the mountains and lakes of Kyrgyzstan for a temperate break that's visa-free for most Western passport holders. Think of it as Xinjiang without all of the mafan.

More stories by this author here.

Email: stevenschwankert@thebeijinger.com
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Photo: Steven Schwankert/the Beijinger