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Shanghai Metro Lines - A complete guide

Reaching almost every corner of the city, covering all the prosperous areas, the Metro is the fastest and most convenient way to move about in the downtown area. There are now eight lines and in December 2007 Shanghai's subway systems overtook Paris as the seventh longest network in the world.

Advantages and Disadvantages

The Shanghai metro, as with elsewhere in the world, is the quickest method to get around a congested metropolis. It's also much cheaper than taxis with maximum fares of 6 yuan per journey. Some special advantages of the Shanghai metro is that it's easy to understand for foreigners due to the simple graph format of its maps, and signs are in both Chinese and Pinyin.

Another special advantage is that it's by far the best way to get across the Huangpu between Pudong and Puxi. Finally it connects both train stations in Shanghai and provides a link to the maglev which goes to Pudong airport.

However, the Metro has its disadvantages. It is extremely crowded in rush hours and Line 1 is crowded in whatever hours. Even the act of getting on and off the trains can be tiresome as people typically don't wait for passengers to disembark before getting on. Also be wary of thieves, both on the train and on the platform, especially when it is extremely crowded.

During rush hours in Shanghai, over-crowded coaches always require passengers to wait for more than one train before they can actually get onboard.

The lines

Line 1 stretches north to south meeting in the middle with lines 2 and 8 at People's Square. As such it provides access to many important downtown areas such as People's Square, Xintiandi, Huaihai Road and Xujiahui. It also links Shanghai's two railway stations.

Line 2 goes East to West across Shanghai meeting with lines 1 and 8 at People's Square. This line provides access to some of the downtown areas line 1 miss including Nanjing Road West and East, and the Bund. Importantly is the metro line to Pudong airport though you will have to change for the maglev to get to the airport.

Line 2 also links Pudong's financial center Lujiazui and residential area jingqiao with the Puxi city center areas as well as traversing busy Western suburbs of Zhongshan Park.

Line 4 is a circular lines covering both Pudong and Puxi and part of its course is also followed by Line 3.

Line 5 covers Xinzhuang to Minhang Development District.

Line 6 is entirely in Pudong going North to South it provides those areas with links to line 2 and 4.

Line 8 links some older parts of Shanghai such as Laoximen to the city center as well as covering more parts of the northeast.

Interchanges and transfer stations

There are stations where several Metro lines meet. An interchange station is a station where you can change for other lines without meeting a ticket barrier, e.g. People's Square Station. A transfer station, however, is one where you have to leave the first line through a ticket barrier and then be charged for another line, e.g. Shanghai Railway Station.

Shanghai transport card holders can get a considerable discount by swiping the card when transferring from one line to another.

Safety shields have been installed in most Metro stations in the city center.

Tickets

It is strongly advisable to buy tickets from a ticket vending machine which automatically calculates the fare according to the destination station you specifies. However, general knowledge of how the fare is calculated will be helpful.

Future Constructions

Line 9 extends from Yishan Road to Yanggao Road M. Xujiahui station will become a transfer stop between lines 1 and 9. Line 9 will also connect with Line 8 at Lujiabang station and lines 2, 4 and 6 at Century Avenue station.

Line 10 will have stops inside Hongqiao area and also run past downtown Sichuan Road N., Nanjing Road E., the northern Jiangwan residential area and Tongji University.

Line 10 will also have three stops inside the future Hongqiao Integrated Transport Hub. These have been named Hongqiao Railway Station, Eastern Hongqiao Airport Station and Western Hongqiao Airport Station.

The Metro stops will also connect the future Shanghai-Beijing and Shanghai-Nanjing express rail station, the eastern and western traffic centers inside the hub next to the airport terminal. The transport hub will connect with Hongqiao Airport's new terminal.

Line 10 will share six stops with other existing and new Metro services including the lines 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Line 10's downtown stops will include Xintiandi, Yuyuan Garden, Nanjing Road E., Tiantong Road, Sichuan Road N., and Hailun Road stations.

Line 10 will also have a branch route in Hongqiao area to run between Shanghai Zoo Station and the Hanghua residential complex.

Line 11 will link the Jiading District auto hub and Formula One racetrack in the city's northwest with the agriculture-rich Nanhui District in the southeast -- a total stretch of 67 kilometers.

The 40.4-kilometer Line 12 is designed to connect Minhang District in southwest Shanghai and the northern part of Pudong New Area after passing through Xuhui, Luwan, Jing'an, Zhabei, Hongkou and Yangpu districts.

The southwest-to-northeast line will have 31 stations, all underground, from Qixin Road in Minhang to Jinhai Road in Pudong.

Nineteen stations on Line 12 will connect with 16 other Metro lines -- Line 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19 and the extention of Metro Line 5.