For me, the Shanghai subway is associated with eternity! On my first trip, we lived very far from the center and every day spent about an hour on the metro on only 1 line. But the reality is not so bad!
Features of the metro in Shanghai
The Shanghai Metro has 16 lines and allows you to get almost anywhere. Well, at least to everything that a tourist needs.
At each station there is a security control service, everything is like at airports - the luggage goes through the X-ray, and you yourself go through the metal detector frame. All aprons are fenced off from the tracks by a fence (a handrail at a height of one meter and a glass surface, sometimes the fence is completely glass from floor to ceiling), the doors of the carriages stop in front of the fence doors. The entrance to the car is carried out from the side, exit from the center. There are special graphic clues on the floor to help you find your way.
There are monitors on the walls of the carriages, which, interspersed with news, recipes and even karaoke, broadcast information about actions in an emergency. On the platforms there are large TVs showing the time before train arrival and other information.
I'll start with some basic information:
Metro map
Now, in the age of technology, I would advise you to download the app in advance to be prepared for the trip. The best, in my opinion, is: Shanghai Metro (Metroman), a blue app.
In terms of functionality, everything is standard: an interactive metro map, in which you can, by choosing the necessary stations, build a route. Unlike other apps, it is constantly being updated.
Website and Opening Hours
The official website of the Shanghai Metro is always up-to-date. Using them, you can build your route in advance. It is especially convenient that all information is provided in English.
On average, the metro is open from 6:00 to 23:00, but each line functions differently. You can see the exact time until which hour the line you need is working is possible only in the metro, there are signs indicating the time or on the website, but keep in mind that sometimes the time changes. Therefore, you should not risk it: it is better to be at the station you need 30 minutes before the close of the metro station.
You will never get lost in the metro - there are signs everywhere to the desired line. The main thing is to carefully look at the map: some crossings only mean changing from one train to another, and not going through long tunnels.
Types of tickets and fare
If you have already been to other cities in China, then it will not be news to you that the price varies depending on the distance. If your path does not exceed 6 kilometers, then the ticket will cost 0.44 USD. If you need to drive further, then for every next 10 kilometers you will have to pay another 0.15 USD. However, some lines have their own rates. The maximum cost is 1.3 USD.
You shouldn't have any difficulties with paying for travel: at each station there are vending machines where you can buy a one-time ticket. The departure station is already automatically jammed in the system, you just need to choose which station you need to go to, and the machine will calculate the cost on its own.
Do not try to be smarter than the system and buy a ticket to the station you need, because when entering and exiting, it will be necessary to insert it into the turnstile. Otherwise, you will not be able to get off the metro and onto the street.
Now let's move on to the option with which there are a little less troubles if you come for a long time.
Is free children up to 130 cm tall are allowed in the subway. In addition, disabled people and retirees with Chinese citizenship.
The Shanghai Metro has excellent navigation, all exits are marked, there are often maps next to them. So you won't be able to get confused. When planning a route to a point of interest, always look at which exit is closest.
Shanghai is one of the largest metropolitan areas in Asia. One of the sights of the city is its subway. In this article we will tell you everything about the Shanghai metro: we will provide a map with a diagram, opening hours, talk about the fare, types of tickets and privileges.
Tim Adams / flickr.com
brief information
The Shanghai Metro can rightfully be called the embodiment of modern elegance and engineering brilliance. Here, elements of Eastern culture are skillfully intertwined with the latest achievements of Western architecture. The stations of the Shanghai Metro are extraordinarily beautiful, and the trains that run between them are reminiscent of the super-fast cars of the future.
Tim Adams / flickr.com
In a relatively short period of time (its history is 14 years old), the Shanghai metro managed to break into the ranks of the leaders in a number of indicators. So, it is the first metro in the world in length (548 km) and the fourth in terms of daily passenger traffic (8.5 million people).
Metro lines and stations
The Shanghai metro map is represented by 14 active lines and 329 stations. Due to the popularity and convenience of this type of transport, the metro is developing at a rapid pace. According to the project, by 2020 the number of lines on the Shanghai metro map should be increased to 18, some of which will connect the most significant objects of urban infrastructure.
The Shanghai metro map shows that the majority of stations are concentrated around the city center, which is considered the norm in the construction of the metro.
The stations of the Shanghai "subway" are built according to the latest technology and architecture. They are distinguished by perfect cleanliness and high information content. Plasma screens display information about the arrival of the next two trains. The announcements themselves are made in two languages: Chinese and English.
Unfortunately, there are no announcements in the Shanghai subway in Russian yet. But an equally important innovation was the introduction of a record that announces information about everyone located near the station.
The price of the issue
The fare depends on the distance. The first 6 kilometers of the journey will cost you $ 0.44 or 3 yuan. Fans of long trips will have to shell out $ 0.15 or 1 yuan for every next 10 kilometers. This payment system is not universal: the fifth metro line has its own prices.
Marc van der Chijs / flickr.com
You can travel up to 6 kilometers along it for 2 yuan. This feature is explained by the fact that the authorities stimulate the development of the area through which this small branch runs. The Shanghai metro map does not deceive - its length is only 15 km.
Much to the surprise of a Russian tourist, travel benefits in Shanghai are set on an anthropometric basis. Thus, children whose height does not exceed 1.2 meters have the right to a free ride. The authorities did not forget to take care of the elderly: pensioners over 70 also have the right to free travel.
However, there are some bureaucratic nuances here. This privileged opportunity is given only by the Chinese social card, so this rule does not apply to tourists.
Types of tickets
The Shanghai Metro uses the following types of passes:
- Disposable.
- Shanghai Transportation Card - Shahghai Public Transportation Card.
- Travel passes for tourists for 1-3 days.
- "Maglev".
A one-time ticket can be bought from vending machines at any station. The passenger must enter the destination of the trip, and the system will automatically calculate its cost. These tickets are only valid during the day. When leaving the station, the used ticket must be inserted into the turnstile. You can stay in the Shanghai subway for no more than 3 hours. Otherwise, the turnstile will not let you out.
Shanghai Transport Card is an analogue of a plastic card. The passenger replenishes her account, which is spent on travel. When purchasing it, you must pay 3 USD as a security deposit. If the amount spent on travel exceeds $ 10, you will receive a 10% discount on all subsequent trips.
Travel passes for 1-3 days are the most beneficial. By purchasing a one-day or three-day pass for 3 or 7 USD, respectively, you can travel on the Shanghai subway without restrictions. This option is the most popular among tourists.
Maglev is a high-speed metro line. It connects Pudong Airport and Luoyang Road Station. Trains run here at a speed of 300-430 km / h. Such a trip will cost $ 7.5 one way.
Video: How to use the Shanghai Metro?
Schedule
Those who like to walk late are interested in the question: until what time does the local subway work? After all, life in the metropolis is in full swing, so a tourist inadvertently can lose track of time. So, the operating time of the Shanghai Metro starts at 6 am and ends at 11 pm.
On holidays, the metro can work up to one in the morning. It should be remembered that each branch has its own opening hours. But in any case, you shouldn't risk it - come to the station half an hour before the official closing.
Shanghai will definitely be remembered not only for its skyscrapers, temples and the former French Concession, but also for its public transport, especially for how convenient and easy it is to use it. Our metro rail system has more kilometers than any city in the world. Taxis are relatively affordable, and buses here can take you to the most remote areas of the city.
But if you've just stepped off the plane, navigating this gigapolis can seem like a complicated and confusing process. That's why we've put together this handy guide to all kinds of transportation in Shanghai.
Shanghai Public Transport Card
The public transportation map is applicable for all public transportation in Shanghai. Analogue of MetroCard in New York or Octopus in Hong Kong.
You pay a deposit of 20 RMB per card and can immediately credit up to 1,000 RMB, but we do not recommend an amount over 200 in case the card gets lost somewhere. You can buy, top up or return your card at the Shanghai Public Network Service Center at 609 Jiujiang Lu (right next to Howard Johnson Plaza) or at designated subway stations.
Some stations have shops where you can top up your transport card. Basically, top-up services are performed through a special device using a Chinese bank card, Alipay or WeChat Wallet.
Shanghai's giant underground transportation network has 16 lines and is not going to stop in development and expansion. Lines are indicated by numbers and colors. All stations have Chinese and English signs, which are easy to navigate, because they give clear directions to the station, passages and exits. Station announcements are also announced in Chinese and English.
If you are traveling in the city center, a single metro ride will cost RMB 3, while the maximum long distance fare is RMB 9. If during the month you used an amount of more than 70 yuan, then the calculation of travel after 70 yuan is discounted.
Depending on the situation, you can use one-way tickets, tickets for a day or 72 hours, which is very convenient, because these tickets have no limit, you can ride from one corner of Shanghai to another all day at least with one ticket.
Depending on the lines and stations, the metro starts operating from 5:30 am to 10:30 pm - 11:30 pm.
We wrote a lot about the Shanghai maglev in detail: and with this miracle of Shanghai transport technology, we will not bore you with the data that has not yet changed that you can get / fly from the Pudong airport using the maglev to the relative city center in just 7 minutes.
The Huangpu River divides Shanghai into two parts: Pudong and Puxi. In addition to the metro, bus and taxi, there are also ferries. A total of 19 ferry lines serve about 40 ferry stations.
The ferry ride costs 2 RMB, if you are carrying a bicycle, the fare will be 1.3 RMB on a regular ferry and 2.8 on an air-conditioned ferry, if you are with a scooter, then the fare will be 1.5 RMB on a simple ferry to and 3 RMB on an air-conditioned ferry.
Not all lines are open 24 hours, some close early. Only Dongdong Line, Taigong Line and Jinding Line offer 24/7 service. Only pedestrians are allowed on the Dongjin Line. Cars, trucks or other motor vehicles are allowed on the Dongnen line.
More than a thousand bus routes operate in Shanghai. This is a convenient and cheap way to get around Shanghai as long as you know where the stations are and where you need to get off. The ticket usually costs 2 RMB, the driver will not have a change for you, so it is better to prepare the travel money in advance.
Be aware that not all lines have an English map or announce stops in English. Central regular lines are always 1 (01) -200, rush hour lines are always 201-299, night lines are always 301-399, river crossing lines are always 401-499.
Bus timetables vary depending on the lines and bus companies. If you speak at least basic Chinese, we recommend downloading the Baidu Maps app. It shows which buses will reach the desired stop and their exact location. It also shows you the fastest route, the routes that require the least walking, and what is the best in this case: take the bus or the metro.
Taxis are very convenient for getting around Shanghai, despite the fact that the price is higher than that of other modes of transport and the drivers do not speak English. Catching a taxi in Shanghai is relatively easy.
Different colors represent different taxi companies:
Regular taxi: RMB 14 landing for the first 3 km during the day and RMB 18 at night (23: 00-5: 00). 2.50ю / km to 15 km, then 3.60ю / km. Between 11:00 and 17:00 the tariff is higher: 3.10u / km for the first 3 km, then 4.70u / km after 10 km.
Expo cabins (those with a large trunk): boarding RMB 16 during the day and RMB 21 at night.
There are also two hundred British luxury champagne-colored taxis, aka “golden taxis” in the city center, which are more accessible to people with disabilities. The landing rate is RMB 18.
It is recommended that you prepare a Chinese copy of your address, make sure you know the nearest intersection. Streets in Shanghai can stretch for miles, and taxi drivers often use the nearest intersection as a guide to know exactly which part of the city you are heading to.
Bicycles for rent
The transport landscape in Shanghai began to change rapidly with the onset of the bicycle sharing boom. Rows of bicycles can be found all over the place, they can be rented for as little as 1-2 RMB and go wherever you go. Bicycles of different colors come from different companies, the most common are Mobike (orange), Ofo (yellow) and Xiaoming (blue). It is your cheapest and most convenient transportation option in Shanghai if you are traveling relatively short distances.
A favorite of all Laowai people is Mobike, so far it is the only bike rental app available in English. The app also allows you to reserve the bike closest to you for up to 15 minutes. Mobike requires you to register with your passport photo and passport selfie. Verification takes about 10 minutes.
Didi Chuxing is a Chinese Uber. The application offers a choice of renting a public car or a luxury car with a driver. There is a choice of taxis, luxury cars and mini vans. A taxi ride can be paid in cash, other cars are paid through WeChat or AliPay apps.
And another form of transportation in Shanghai is the electric scooter!
Scooters in price range from 400 yuan for a used one and up to 6000 yuan for a new one, depending on the power and beauty. Since the beginning of 2017, all scooters must be registered, so you will have to get to the police and go through all the procedures. You can purchase a new scooter almost anywhere in the city center.
Whatever transport you choose in Shanghai, we wish you an easy road!
At the entrance to each station of the Shanghai Metro, all passengers undergo full security control. It's just like at airports - the luggage goes through the X-ray, and you yourself go through the frame. Such strict measures in all "subways". We recommend not to be surprised, you will find many more interesting things in this country, and even some aspects of the life of the Chinese.
One more important note. In the metro, on the platform, arrows indicate where passengers who are preparing to enter the carriage should stand. Do not stand directly in front of the door, behave culturally and do not dishonor your homeland.
What's the fare
In the Shanghai metro, the cost of the trip depends on the length of the journey. If you travel up to 6 kilometers, then the ticket will cost 3. If you go further, then for every next 10 kilometers you will have to pay another 1 yuan.
These rates are valid on all lines except the 5th, where a trip up to 6 km costs 2 RMB. The entire 5th line is 15 kilometers long. What is the reason for this exception? This is how the city authorities stimulate the development of this area.
Children up to 1.2 meters tall can use the Shanghai Metro for free. Also, old people after 70 years old can ride here for free, but for tourists this is not relevant, since you need to have a Chinese social card.
What are the tickets
The simplest ticket is a one-time ticket. The easiest way to buy it is from a vending machine. You simply select the destination station and the number of tickets, and the machine calculates the cost itself and gives you tickets after payment. Remember that one-time tickets at the end of the trip must be “fed” to the turnstile. It's a pity, but you won't be able to keep it as a keepsake.
A single ticket is valid only on the day of purchase. You can spend no more than 3 hours in the metro, after this time the turnstile will not let you back out.
The second type of ticket is the Shanghai Public Transportation Card. You put a certain amount of money on it, and the system itself withdraws it as you travel. It is much more convenient than buying a ticket every time. If you travel with this 70 RMB card, you will receive a 10% discount on all subsequent trips. A trifle, but nice.
A transport card can only be purchased at the ticket office. 20 yuan will have to be paid as a deposit. When you leave Shanghai, you can get it back, having received your 20 yuan and the entire amount that you did not have time to spend. This card allows you to “go into the minus” by 8 yuan.
Another type of ticket is single day and three days. Pay RMB 18 or 45 and ride the Shanghai subway for one or three days without restrictions. For tourists, this type of ticket is the most convenient of all. These tickets can only be purchased at the box office.
Souvenir ticket. It is only sold at certain stations. We have never seen him and we cannot tell anything about him.
Maglev ticket. It appeared recently in 2013. You can drive along it once and take the metro for one day without restrictions. This ticket costs 55 RMB, which is very beneficial as one trip to Maglev costs 50 RMB.
Transitions
Very important information for tourists. There are two types of crossings in the Shanghai metro. The first - the usual, where you enter the tunnel between the stations and get to the right one, just like ours.
The second type of transition is called “virtual” or “transit”. There is no tunnel and passengers need to get off the metro and re-enter. There are not many such transitions, and they are specially marked on the maps, and if you look closely, you will easily find them.
The "uniforms" familiar to Muscovites are made at the Mikron plant in Zelenograd. The enterprise has been manufacturing microcircuits since Soviet times. In the early 1990s, it was corporatized. Then the plant became part of the Sitronics concern, owned by AFK Sistema. In July 2006, the concern signed an agreement with STMicroelectronics on the transfer of technologies for the production of microcircuits with a topology of 180 nanometers. This line produces microchips, which are now in every Moscow travel ticket. In addition to them, the plant produces SIM cards and plastic cards with chips for Visa and MasterCard, chip modules for a universal electronic card and a biometric passport.
Mikron plant
Location: Moscow, Zelenograd
The number of employees: 1 700
Date of foundation: 1967
The main element of the Moscow transport map is a microchip 0.2 square millimeters in size. Microchip crystals are made on silicon wafers in clean rooms, where powerful air conditioners maintain a constant temperature of 21 degrees and a humidity of 45%. Only factory employees in overalls and masks can enter the clean rooms - this is necessary in order to exclude the ingress of dust or foreign particles from clothing and skin onto plates with future chips or equipment.
The production of a crystal is a complex technological process, which is similar to the repetitive development of a photograph. The surface of the silicon wafer is covered with a special dielectric layer. A photosensitive composition - photoresist is applied to it. Then, using an ultraviolet ray, the plate is illuminated through a photomask with a pattern of one of the layers of the future microcircuit. This procedure is repeated many times over the entire surface of the wafer, as long as there is enough space depending on the size of the chip itself. So, 90 thousand transport chips "fit" on one plate with a diameter of 200 millimeters.
Ultraviolet radiation, passing through the photomask, illuminates individual areas of the surface, which then appear with the help of special compounds. As a result, “drawn” lines from the photoresist remain on the surface. Free areas are subjected to various influences: etching or ion implantation, when ions of other substances “shoot” from the high-voltage accelerator into the plate and penetrate into the surface layers of silicon to a certain depth. This is how tens of millions of tiny transistors are obtained, which in the required sequence must be connected to each other by conductors. The density of the elements is so great that it is impossible to combine them all on one layer. Therefore, several layers are made where the conductors do not intersect with each other. All layers and conductors form a complex structure, similar to the branched passages in an anthill.
The whole process of making crystals on a wafer takes about two to three months and requires the sequential execution of more than three thousand different operations. There are nine sections in the clean room of the plant, which are responsible for different stages of production. Every day and around the clock, specialists control the technological process, ensuring the quality and accuracy of all operations. All in all, Mikron, which, in addition to producing crystals, is also engaged in scientific research, designing microcircuits and assembling finished products, employs about 1,700 employees.
When the crystal is finished, the plates are sent to the shipping card production workshop. At the bumping site, the machine at great speed places tiny gold posts (bump) on each chip. Then they will become the contact between the chip and the antenna of the transport ticket. An antenna is needed to power the chip with electricity using electromagnetic induction. At the moment the ticket is applied to the turnstile validator, the ticket antenna enters the electromagnetic field and begins to generate a weak electric current. The chip "wakes up" and starts transmitting information about its number, the number of trips, and the validity period via the radio channel. The information is checked against the database, and if everything fits, the trip is written off from the card and the turnstile doors are opened.
At the stage of thinning, the plates become ten times thinner. The machine cuts off the excess silicon from the bottom and the thickness of the wafer is reduced from 750 to 75 microns. This avoids the appearance of a bump where the chip will be installed on the transport card.
Then the plate is transferred to a sticky film and sent to cutting, where diamond cutters cut it vertically and horizontally, carefully cutting out each of the 90,000 chips. The thickness of the cut is minimal, and the appearance of chips at the edges is unacceptable.
On the conveyor, the chips are attached to a special non-stretching polyethylene tape with an aluminum antenna. First, the device applies glue exactly to the place of attachment, and then a chip is placed on it: on the back of the sticky film, the chip is lifted with a thin needle so that a vacuum suction cup can pick it up and place it in the right place. A film with an antenna and an installed chip is called inlay. The inlays are tested, cut into strips and rolled into tight bobbins. 
After cutting down, tickets are personalized. The drum captures the ticket and writes the card number on its chip, which will later allow it to be identified in the database. The packers put cards in boxes, which are sent to the subway and ticket offices of the city. The numbers of tickets and parties are entered into a computer, and then, when selling, the cashier simply "assigns" a certain number of trips to the ticket.
Every month Mikron makes over 30 million transport cards for the Moscow Department of Transport and the Moscow Metro. Their selling price has not exceeded 5 rubles for three years.
photos: Ivan Gushchin
