[7] The line is operated by the Beijing MTR Corporation Limited and uses CNR Changchun DKZ93 and CSR Sifang SFM40 eight-car high-capacity wide-body Type A trains.

In 2009, Line 16 was among the 198 major urban planning projects listed by Beijing's development and reform commission.

[9] According to the June 2010 plans, the northern section of Line 16 will replace the originally planned Line 4 northern extension and run 48 km (29.8 mi) from Bei'anhe in Haidian District, south to Xiaoyueyuan, near the Lugou Bridge in Fengtai District.

For this reason, that section of the line was also referred to as the Haidian Shanhou (literal translation: Haidian Back Mountain) Line because it begins on the backside of the low-lying range that extends from the Fragrant Hills to the Summer Palace.

[10] Points of interest that the line may pass along the route to Xiaoyueyuan in the south include the Summer Palace, Haidian Gymnasium, National Library, Purple Bamboo Park, Beijing Zoo, Chegongzhuang West Road, Sanlihe, Wanshou Temple, Lize Shangwuqu (Lize Business District), and the Beijing Fengtai railway station.

[10] The proposal was scaled back with the removal of the Haidian Shanhou section in December 2010, reducing the line to just 23 km (14.3 mi), from Suzhou Jie to Wanpingcheng.

But the northern section was subsequently restored months later, bringing the line length 49 km (30.4 mi).

[5] In April 2020, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform decided to build an infill station on the southern section of Line 16: Yushuzhuang North (now renamed to Hongtaizhuang).

On 30 December 2023, the extension from Yushuzhuang to Wanpingcheng, and the infill station Suzhou Jie, started operation.