About China blogosphere, travel, and entrepreneurship

Beijing’s Subway Line 8 is nearly reality. With a wait of less than a month to go — Line 8 is reality with Line 10 and the Airport Express — the new Subway lines will open up in early July 2008. (Note that they once said “late June 2008″, but they moved it back…)

Don’t, by any chance, discount Line 8. Without Line 8, you won’t be able to get to the Olympic venues. This line is about a million times more important than Lines 1 (running underneath Chang’an Avenue), 2 (running in circles inside central Beijing) or any other Subway line.

Line 8 — The Olympic Branch Line

When Beijing won the Olympics in 2001, the world was already watching. Beijing had to find somewhere to entertain the world in seven years’ time; in 2003, the Olympic Green was chosen as the place. Situated at the northernmost end of Beijing’s 25 km long north-south axis, this bit of Beijing is sandwiched between the northern 3rd Ring Road and the northern 5th Ring Road (part of the Forest Park, in fact, spill out over the 5th Ring Road) and is big — coming in at a handsome 1,159 acres.

So it soon dawned upon the Subway people that they had to serve the 1,159 Olympic Green. No sweat: The Subway Powers that Be cooked up Line 10, running a semi-arc from the Zhongguancun (中关村) tech hub in northwestern Beijing and went east into the Beijing CBD. The really smart thing was that they added an interchange halfway through the northern part of Line 10 — to link with the future Olympic line.

The Olympic line was originally designed to be part of Line 10 — and was supposed to be this tiny bit that jutted into the north. There wasn’t really much use for the line, apart from two months of Olympic fever in 2008. The 4 km-ish Line 8 has every potential to become a real Subway dragon, with all extensions in place.

Ah. Here’s the good bit. The Olympic line was renamed Line 8, stripped of its Olympic-only name, and became a separate line. The newly-renamed Line 8 then took a life of its own — with extensions further north and south to come long after the Games were finished.

Fellow riders will be pleased to know that the flat RMB 2 fee for all lines (except for the Airport Express) will work very well on Line 8.

Click the image for a bigger map.Getting To Line 8: Getting to Line 8 is not the easiest thing you’ll be able to do — the only direct way to Line 8 is if you’re taking Line 10. (Line 10 runs from Zhongguancun, the tech hub in northwestern Beijing, all the way through to the CBD in eastern urban Beijing, but does an arc more than a straight line service.)
Line 8 entrances look very different from other Subway entrances in Beijing From a few “big” places in Beijing, this is how you reach Line 8 in 2008:

• Tian’anmen Square ( 天安门): Take Line 1 eastbound to Pingguoyuan; change at Dongdan for Line 5. Take the Line 5 train northbound to Tiantongyuan North, and change again at Huixinxijie Nankou for Line 10. Take the Line 10 train to Bagou, and finally exit at Beitucheng (two stops). Change at Beitucheng for Line 8.
• Beijing Capital Airport (PEK) : When the Airport Express opens in early July 2008, exit at Sanyuanqiao (三元桥) and change to Line 10. Take the Line 10 train to Bagou (巴沟), and change at Beitucheng for Line 8.
• Beijing Railway Station: Take Line 2 for just a stop further west (to Chongwenmen). Then change at Chongwenmen for Line 5. At Chongwenmen, take the Line 5 train northbound to Tiantongyuan North, and change again at Huixinxijie Nankou for Line 10. Take the Line 10 train to Bagou, and finally exit at Beitucheng (two stops). Change at Beitucheng for Line 8.
• Temple of Heaven (tiantan,天坛): Take the Line 5 train northbound to Tiantongyuan North, and change again at Huixinxijie Nankou for Line 10. Take the Line 10 train to Bagou, and finally exit at Beitucheng (two stops). Change at Beitucheng for Line 8.Wangfujing (王府井): Follow the instructions for Tian’anmen Square.
• CBD (Chaoyang Guomao area): Take the Line 10 train to Bagou, and finally exit at Beitucheng. Change at Beitucheng for Line 8.
• Zhongguancun: Take the Line 10 train to Jinsong, and exit at Beitucheng. Change at Beitucheng for Line 8.

Stops And Sights

Here are some good sights near the main Line 8 stations:

• Beitucheng (北土城): Just west of Beitucheng is the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park (a.k.a.China Nationalities Museum 中华名族博物馆/园), where all of China’s 56 ethnic groups are showcased. You’ll get to see buildings representative of different ethnicities — a good chance to immerse yourself in a bit of Chinese history. See, the Han majority (at about 92%) doesn’t really tell the whole story about China — ethnic-wise. The remaining 55 have equally interesting stories to tell.

• Olympic Sports Center (奥林匹克体育中心) and Olympic Green (奥林匹克公园): These stops are close to the major venues, including the Bird’s Nest, aka the National Stadium, and the Water Cube, aka the National Aquatics Center. Exit at the first stop (Sports Center) for the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube; exit at the second (Olympic Green) for the National Indoor Stadium and other venues in the park.

Cliché already? If you must… the Bird’s Nest…• South Gate of Forest Park (森林公园南门) : Enter the Olympic Forest Park through its south gate here. We’re talking about a forest park covering over half of the entire area of the Olympic Green. Spanning 680 hectares (the whole Olympic Green is “just” 1,159 hectares), the Forest Park is huge — and is all green. There’s even a pedestrian-only bridge over the 5th Ring Road — they didn’t do “Green Olympics” just for the heck of it! All of these sights should be open by the time the Games are in Beijing.

Good Connections

The main transfer point on Line 8 is the massive interchange at Beitucheng. South of Beitucheng, the Olympic Green is no more.If you’re heading on to Line 8 from Line 10, follow the signs and enter a T-shaped interchange — down the stairs you go into the green Line 8 (distinguished from the (what must be) Mac OS X Aqua Line 10).

You’ll be pleased to know that Lines 8 and 10 all use central platforms — so use the full width of the entire platform, and don’t just crowd yourselves at the far ends of the platform.There is also good signage for those making their way back to Line 10. Unlike those heading to Line 8, you’ll have to pick your destination if you’re transferring back to Line 10.

Zukunftsmusik

Line 8 is, by all means, the measliest of all Subway lines as we have it right now. However, the whole line should come with a huge WATCH THIS SPACE line, as up to three extensions could see this being the line through all of Beijing.

In the first extension, Line 8 will expand further north to Huoying North and south through to Meishuguan East Street, near the Art Gallery. The northern extension will bring Subway services to Huilongguan, which is a massive community in the northern suburbs. Meanwhile, the southern extension will bring services to Houhai, not far from the Houhai Bar Street in central Beijing, and finally end near the Art Gallery — just northeast of the Forbidden City.

When that’s all said and done, Line 8 might make a further extension further south to somewhere near Nanyuan Airport. This, though, isn’t likely to start until 2015 at the very earliest. The southern link will bring services through to Qianmen in the heart of Beijing (just to the south of Tian’anmen), as well as Yongdingmen Gate, and finally all the way to Nanyuan Airport, which is the second largest airport in Beijing (although it’s measly if compared with Beijing Capital).

Finally, Line 8 is almost certain to head into eastern urban Changping, in northern suburban Beijing. This part is north of Huilongguan, and is to be a university area in the north. The northernmost extension still has no timetable, but is pretty much a near-done deal.

So there you have it — Line 8 of the Beijing Subway. Not really big when you take a look at it in 2008, but hey, this guy’s got room to grow!