How to pay for the Beijing subway?

Starting from June 15, 2025, Beijing's urban rail system now supports contactless payments with JCB cards issued overseas and American Express cards issued both domestically and internationally. With this update, Beijing’s subway system now accepts cards from five major payment networks: UnionPay, Mastercard, Visa, JCB, and American Express.

This service upgrade covers the entire Beijing urban rail network, including 29 operating lines (including the two airport lines, Xijiao Line, and Yizhuang T1 Line), 523 stations, and the S2 suburban railway line. You can tap the card at any gate, at any time, on any line—no need to buy tickets in advance or download an app. Just tap your card at the gate’s sensor area and walk through instantly.
You can also buy one or more single-journey tickets for accompanying family members or friends at self-service ticket machines. If the foreign passenger exceeds the ride distance or time limit while using a single-journey ticket, he or she can use his or her overseas-issued bank card to pay the fare difference at a self-service machine.