Shanghai is a gem of a city which is very well connected, courtesy to the huge investments by the Chinese government. But as with any other city in China – Traffic and congestion is always a problem and that’s where the Shanghai Metro is a life saver. Read more for Tricks and Tips For Shanghai Metro.
We used the Shanghai metro to visit all the Top 5 – must see attraction in Shanghai. Here are few tips which I believe might come handy if you plan to visit this bustling city.
- The Metro stations are clearly marked in both English and Chinese with a clear sign. The description clearly has the Station name, entrance/exit number and the line number.
- There are 2 ways you can buy tickets –The first is at the Ticket Booth where mostly bits of English are spoken and the second option is at the Self service machines. These are in English and self explanatory.
- A must have – Shanghai Metro App [IOS – Click here] [Android – Click here]
- Once inside the metro the announcements are both in English and Chinese. The same goes with the display boards – which makes life easy.
- The Metro is very crowded during Peak hours -7:30am – 9:30am, 5:00pm – 7:00 pm. So if possible avoid these hours.
- If you are arriving late from the Pudong Airport to the city and interchanging from the Maglev at Longyang road you would see many Touts (mostly taxi drivers) claiming the metro is closed and charging a bomb for a taxi ride. Avoid these people and go check for yourself as they are mostly lying. If the metro is really closed avoid these touts, come up to street and hail a taxi. You can find the First and last train info for Shanghai metro here – Click
- Though most of the names are written in English, it’s still a good practice to write the station names of your interchange or destination in Chinese on a piece of paper. This would come handy if you are lost and need to ask someone.
- There is an obvious lack of patience as far as I see so get used to a lot of pushing and barging in while entering or exiting the metro. Also most of the people are glued to their phones while on the metro – so less chance of having a conversation.
- There are various tickets and price options for the metro and I must say it’s very cheap when compared to anywhere in Europe and especially London. From a Tourist perspective, if you are sightseeing and want to visit the Top attraction in Shanghai then I would advice on buying a One Day Travel Pass. This gives you unlimited usage of the Shanghai Metro for 24 hours for a price of 18Yuan – Worth it!
- Also if you are sightseeing and also need to take a flight from Pudong airport then it’s worth taking a Metro + Maglev Day Pass. This gives unlimited Metro usage for 24 hrs and a single (55 Yuan) or Double Maglev journey (85 Yuan). Again worth the price!
- The Maglev runs from Pudong international airport to Longyang road covering the journey in just 8 minutes. One can interchange at Longyang for Line 2 on the metro. See the Shanghai Maglev train map below. Ordinary ticket is 50 Yuan per person.
- Keep the Shanghai Metro map handy – See below
I hope these tips come handy while travelling the Shanghai metro. We used the metro extensively to travel to Airports and also to Zhujiajiao, Jade Buddha Temple etc. If you have any questions around this please feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you at the very earliest.
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