Getting Around Shanghai

The best way to get around town is either by taxi or metro. The rapidly expanding metro and light railway system works like a dream; it’s fast, efficient and inexpensive. Rush hour on the metro operates at overcapacity, however, and you get to savour the full meaning of the big squeeze. Taxis are ubiquitous and cheap, but flagging one down during rush hour or during a rainstorm requires staying power of a high order. With a wide-ranging web of routes, buses may sound tempting, but that’s before you try to decipher routes and stops or attempt to squeeze aboard during the crush hour. Buses also have to contend with the increasing solidity of Shanghai’s traffic, which can slow movement to an agonising crawl. Bicycles are good for small neighbourhoods but distances are too colossal for effective transport about town. Walking around Shanghai is only really possible within neighbourhoods, and even then the distances can be epic and tiring.

Metro

The best way to get about town, the Shanghai metro (Shanghai Ditie; www.shmetro.com) is fast, cheap, clean and easy, though hard to get a seat at the best of times (unless you get on at the terminus). The rush hour sees carriages filled to overcapacity, but trains are frequent and the system is being rapidly expanded to envelop more and more of the city.

At the beginning of 2003 there were only three lines in operation, at the time of writing there were 11 lines. New extensions to lines 11 and 13 (formerly the Expo Line) and additional lines (12 and 22) were expected to open by the end of 2012 or in 2013, and a further line (16) in 2013. An extra 175km are planned to be added to the network by 2015.

Metro maps are available at most stations; the free tourist maps also have a small metro map printed on them and there’s an English section on the website. The most useful lines for travellers are 1, 2 and 10. Lines 1 and 2 connect at People’s Square interchange, the busiest station.

Line 1 (yihao xian) Runs from Fujin Rd in the north, through Shanghai Railway Station and People’s Square, along Middle Huaihai Rd, through Xujiahui and Shanghai South Railway Station to Xinzhuang in the southern suburbs.

Line 2 (erhao xian) Runs from Xujing Dong in the west via Hongqiao Railway Station and Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 to Pudong International Airport in the east, passing through Jing’an, People’s Square, East Nanjing Rd (and the Bund district) in the centre of town, going under the Huangpu River and on to Longyang Rd, the site of the Maglev terminus, before terminating at Pudong International Airport.

Line 10 (shihao xian) Runs from Hongqiao Railway Station in the west through Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 and Hongqiao Airport Terminal 1 before zipping through the French Concession, the Old Town, the Bund area and Hongkou before terminating at Xinjiangwancheng.

Metro station exits can be complicated so look for a street map (usually easy to find) before exiting. To find a metro station look for the red M.

Fares & Tickets

» Tickets range from Y3 to Y10, depending on the distance.

» Tickets are sold only from coin- and note-operated machines (except in rare cases).

» Service counters will provide you with change if your bills are not accepted.

» Keep your ticket until you exit.

» When entering the metro, swipe your card across the turnstile sensor for access; when exiting, enter it into the slot, where it will be retained.

» The rechargeable Transport Card (see the boxed text, Click here) can be used on the metro, some buses, ferries, and all taxis.

» The one-day and three-day tourist pass (see the boxed text, Click here) is also for use on the metro.

» There can be huge distances between different lines at interchange stations, such as between line 9 and 1 at Xujiahui station.

» A growing number of stations have coin-operated toilets.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14