The public transport system is very developed in Shanghai, the metro has a total of 11 lines and you could actually explore whole of Shanghai taking the metro.
I think line 2 is the best and most convenient because it goes everywhere, including the major shopping areas, the bund, financial district, domestic and international airport and high speed train stations. Staying near line 2 indeed has its perks.
Fares
From wikipedia,
The base fare is 3 yuan (US$0.45) for journeys under 6 km, then 1 yuan for each additional 10 km. As of April 2010, the highest fare is 10 yuan (US$1.5).
Single-ride tickets can be purchased from ticket vending machines, and at some stations, at a ticket window. Single-ride tickets are embedded with RFID contactless chips. When entering the system you tap the ticket against a scanner above the turnstile, and on exit you insert the ticket into a slot where it is stored and recycled.
In addition to a Single-Ride ticket, fare can be paid using a Shanghai public transpot card. This RFID-embedded card can be purchased at selected banks, convenience stores and metro stations with a 20-yuan deposit. This card can be loaded at ticket booths, Service Centers at the metro stations as well as many small convenience stores and banks throughout the city. The Shanghai Public Transportation Card can also be used to pay for other forms of transportation, such as taxi or bus.
Before the ride
I'm always amused by the security checks. Yes, before entering the gantry there'll be an x-ray machine for the bags and security will prompt you for a bag check.
I heard from my colleagues that they had it set up for the World Expo in 2011 because of the high influx of tourists but it has became a norm now.
The catch is, although they raise their arms to stop you and say 宝宝检查 (bag check) , many people just ignored them and moved on. Occasionally, they will stop you if you have a large bag.
It always cracks me up to see their helpless expressions and restless voices but everyone just ignores them, sometimes I feel so sorry for them.
From wikipedia,
The base fare is 3 yuan (US$0.45) for journeys under 6 km, then 1 yuan for each additional 10 km. As of April 2010, the highest fare is 10 yuan (US$1.5).
Single-ride tickets can be purchased from ticket vending machines, and at some stations, at a ticket window. Single-ride tickets are embedded with RFID contactless chips. When entering the system you tap the ticket against a scanner above the turnstile, and on exit you insert the ticket into a slot where it is stored and recycled.
In addition to a Single-Ride ticket, fare can be paid using a Shanghai public transpot card. This RFID-embedded card can be purchased at selected banks, convenience stores and metro stations with a 20-yuan deposit. This card can be loaded at ticket booths, Service Centers at the metro stations as well as many small convenience stores and banks throughout the city. The Shanghai Public Transportation Card can also be used to pay for other forms of transportation, such as taxi or bus.
Before the ride
I'm always amused by the security checks. Yes, before entering the gantry there'll be an x-ray machine for the bags and security will prompt you for a bag check.
I heard from my colleagues that they had it set up for the World Expo in 2011 because of the high influx of tourists but it has became a norm now.
The catch is, although they raise their arms to stop you and say 宝宝检查 (bag check) , many people just ignored them and moved on. Occasionally, they will stop you if you have a large bag.
It always cracks me up to see their helpless expressions and restless voices but everyone just ignores them, sometimes I feel so sorry for them.
The metro system is really modern, the train comes very frequently and I haven't met a train fault/delay before. Especially during peak hours, the train comes almost every 30 seconds, which is really amazing. I was reading twitter feeds everyday about Singapore's MRT delays and faults so somehow I was glad I was here.
Train manners like queueing up behind the gates to get into the train, letting people alight before boarding is a norm here. Occasionally someone will rush into the train the moment the door opens, not allowing passengers to alight first and you will realise that it's probably some rude tourist from the North. When that happens, I will forcefully push my way out of the train. They really need to learn some logical train manners.
In the train
The underground metro is relative clean, and you could actually eat and drink on the train. I always have my breakfast on the go. The announcements are made in Mandarin and English, so there's no problem understanding.
Don't be surprised if you hear loud music coming from one end of the cabin, its probably some beggers on train trying to get some loose change. They will stop the music once the train door opens to avoid being chased out and blast them once it closes. Its kinda irritating and locals usually ignore them.
Oh one more thing! During peak hours, suspicious old people will be standing around the stations, around the escalator area and platform. They are actually collecting newspapers from the commuters who bought/took newspapers, but the market is always too saturated for popular stations like Lujiazui that you will feel kinda sad for the ageing population here.
Other than that, I'm glad that smoking is prohibited in stations, rubbish bins are everywhere and restrooms are on the platforms.
Out of the station
Some big stations has Family Mart, which will be populated in the morning for a quick breakfast. Illegal taxi drivers/motobikes will be waiting for you at the end of the escalators so beware and take god care of your belongings.
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