The modern metropolis of Shanghai amazes many seasoned travelers with its skyscrapers, financial centers and hurrying people in business suits. It would seem that the movement of urban transport is difficult and unclear. But it turns out transport system in this million-plus city it works smoothly and without failures. Each type of transport operates strictly according to schedule.
Metro - urban mode of transport
One of the city's modes of transport is the Shanghai metro, the photo of which is given below. If the city did not have a metro, it is difficult to imagine how Shanghai would exist today. People would be unable to get home or to work, and city buses and trams would be seriously overloaded.
And in general, urban transport without the metro would not only be overloaded, but simply would not be able to cope with the flow of people wanting to get from one point to another. Therefore, the metro is an important mode of transport for Shanghai, serving approximately 7 million people daily, and its length has already reached 420 kilometers.
It is important to note that the Shanghai metro today is an inexpensive, fast and convenient way to move around the city. This type of transport is used with pleasure as local residents, and numerous tourists.
Metro timetable
Shanghai boasts one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the world, constantly growing and expanding. As of 2017, the Shanghai Metro consists of 15 lines. In addition, line No. 1 has a branch line connecting the city with Pudong Airport. The important thing is that almost all the lines intersect with each other, and line No. 3 passes above the ground.
The first train leaves the line around 5-6 am. The Shanghai metro stops operating at approximately 10-11 pm. The working hours of the metro seem incomprehensible to many visitors.
But it turns out that the Shanghai metro, whose opening hours seem strange at first glance, depends on the metro line. So, closing and opening times are different for each specific line. At each station, a special board indicates the departure time of the first and last train from that station.
Some features
The Shanghai Metro has a main circle line as well as radial lines. You should know that the circular route - line No. 4 and the radial route - line No. 3 partially coincide. Therefore, visitors need to be especially careful, otherwise they may end up going to the wrong place.
When entering the metro, you must touch your card to the validator. When exiting the metro, if a person was traveling with a reusable card, he again applies it to the machine. And if you were driving on a one-time chip, then you simply put the card into a special hole when you exit.
Thus, digital information is read from the card and the robot makes sure that the person has completed the paid journey. If some mistake occurs or a person has traveled more than he was supposed to, he can go to the nearest service center and pay extra for the unpaid journey. Such centers are installed at every metro station. After payment, a person can freely pass through the turnstile.
Fare
The metro ticket costs depending on the distance. On average, the price varies from 3 to 9 yuan. Those who are planning to take the Shanghai metro for the first time can tell the cashier the required station, and he himself will tell you how much the trip will cost. But usually the price of a metro ride can be seen on ticket machines or above the ticket counters.
Magnetic cards are used to travel in the Shanghai metro. Such tickets can be purchased from special machines or ticket offices at stations. It is not recommended to buy them in reserve, because they are valid only for the current day.
If a person is going to stay for several days, then it is more prudent in this case to purchase a reusable card, which costs 20 yuan. When purchasing a reusable card, it is recommended to deposit an amount of 80 to 300 yuan and travel with it, except for the metro, and on other types public transport up to a taxi.
When the entire amount on the reusable card has been spent, it can be topped up through the ticket machine or at any ticket office. There is no need to buy the card again. But you should know that only one person can use one card.
Some nuances
The Shanghai Metro has special elevators and toilets for the disabled. Interestingly, the train is not divided into carriages. Stations, in addition to Chinese, are also announced in English.
The Shanghai metro has long transitions and this must be kept in mind when allocating time for the journey. Intervals between trains range from 2 to 15 minutes. There are special screens installed near the tracks that indicate the arrival time of the nearest train.
Each metro station has up to 10 exits. Therefore, before using the services of this urban transport, it is recommended to study in detail the map of the area and the location of the station. All signs in the metro are in Chinese and English.
At the entrance to each Shanghai metro station, all passengers undergo full security control. Everything is like at airports - luggage passes through the x-ray, and you yourself go through the frame. Such strict measures are in all “subways”. We recommend not to be surprised; there is still a lot of interesting things waiting for you in this country, and some aspects of the life of the Chinese are even...
One more important note. In the metro on the platform, arrows indicate where passengers need to stand as they prepare to enter the carriage. Don’t stand right in front of the door, behave civilly and don’t disgrace your homeland.
What's the fare
In the Shanghai metro, the cost of travel depends on the length of the journey. If you are traveling a distance of up to 6 kilometers, the ticket will cost 3. If further, then for every next 10 kilometers you will have to pay another 1 yuan.
These prices apply to all lines except line 5, where a trip up to 6 km costs 2 yuan. 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 under 1.2 meters tall can enter the Shanghai subway for free. Also, old people over 70 years old can travel here for free, but this is not relevant for tourists, since you need to have a Chinese social card.
What types of tickets are there?
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 itself calculates the cost and gives you the tickets after payment. Remember that disposable tickets must be “fed” at the turnstile at the end of the trip. It’s a pity, but you won’t be able to keep it as a souvenir.
A one-time 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. This is much more convenient than buying a ticket every time. If you travel with this card for 70 yuan, you will receive a 10% discount on all subsequent trips. It's a small thing, but nice.
The transport card can only be purchased at the ticket office. You will have to pay 20 yuan as a deposit. When you leave Shanghai, you can return it, receiving your 20 yuan and the entire amount that you did not have time to spend. This card allows you to “go negative” by 8 yuan.
Another type of tickets is single day (one-day) and three days (three-day). Pay 18 or 45 yuan and ride the Shanghai metro for one or three days without restrictions. For tourists, this type of ticket is the most convenient of all. Such tickets can only be purchased at the box office.
Souvenir ticket. It is only sold at certain stations. We have never seen him and cannot say anything about him.
Maglev ticket. Appeared recently in 2013. You can drive through it once and travel on the subway for one day without restrictions. This ticket costs 55 yuan, which is a great deal since one Maglev ride costs 50 yuan.
Transitions
Very important information for tourists. There are two types of passages in the Shanghai metro. The first ones are ordinary ones, where you enter the tunnel between stations and get to the desired one, everything is like ours.
The second type of transition is called “virtual” or “transit”. There is no tunnel and passengers need to exit the subway and re-enter. There are few such crossings, and they are specially marked on maps, and if you look closely, you can easily find them.
The “unified” ones familiar to Muscovites are made at the Mikron plant in Zelenograd. The company has been producing 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 using the 180 nanometer topology. This line produces microchips, which are now included 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 card is a microchip measuring 0.2 square millimeters. Microchip crystals are made on silicon wafers in clean rooms where powerful air conditioners maintain a constant temperature of 21 degrees and humidity of 45%. Only plant employees wearing overalls and masks can enter the clean rooms - this is necessary in order to prevent dust or foreign particles from clothing and skin from getting onto the plates with future chips or equipment.
Making a crystal is a complex technological process that is similar to repeatedly developing a photograph. The surface of the silicon wafer is covered with a special layer of dielectric. 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” onto one plate with a diameter of 200 millimeters.
Ultraviolet radiation, passing through the photomask, illuminates individual areas of the surface, which are then developed using special compounds. As a result, “drawn” lines of photoresist remain on the surface. Free areas are subjected to various effects: etching or ion implantation, when ions of other substances are “shot” from a high-voltage accelerator into the wafer, penetrating into the surface layers of silicon to a certain depth. This produces tens of millions of tiny transistors, which must be connected to each other by conductors in the required sequence. 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 cross each other. All layers and conductors form a complex structure, similar to branched passages in an anthill.
The entire process of manufacturing 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 areas in the plant's clean room, responsible for different stages of production. Specialists monitor the technological process every day and around the clock, ensuring the quality and accuracy of all operations. In total, about 1,700 employees work at Micron, which in addition to the production of crystals is also engaged in scientific research, design of microcircuits and assembly of finished products.
When die fabrication is completed, the wafers are sent to the transport card production facility. At the bumping section, the machine places tiny golden columns (bumps) on each chip at high speed. Then they will become the contact between the chip and the antenna of the transport ticket. The antenna is needed to power the chip with electricity using electromagnetic induction. When a ticket is applied to the turnstile validator, the ticket antenna enters an electromagnetic field and begins to generate a weak electric current. The chip “wakes up” and begins transmitting information about its number, number of trips, and expiration date via radio channel. The information is checked against the database, and if everything matches, the trip is written off from the card and the turnstile doors open.
At the thinning stage, the plates become ten times thinner. The machine cuts off excess silicon from below and the thickness of the wafer is reduced from 750 to 75 microns. This avoids the appearance of a bump in the place where the chip will be installed on the transport card.
Then the wafer is transferred to adhesive film and sent to the cutting machine, where diamond cutters cut it vertically and horizontally, carefully cutting out each of the 90 thousand chips. The thickness of the cut is minimal, and the appearance of chips on the edges is unacceptable.
On the conveyor, the chips are attached to a special non-stretchable polyethylene tape with an aluminum antenna. First, the device applies glue exactly to the mounting location, and then a chip is placed on it: with reverse side adhesive film, the chip is lifted with a thin needle so that a vacuum suction cup can pick it up and install it in the right place. A film with an antenna and an installed chip is called an “inlay”. The inlays are tested, cut into strips and rolled into tight bobbins. 
After cutting, tickets undergo personalization. The drum captures the ticket and records the card number on its chip, which will later allow it to be identified in the database. Packers put the cards into boxes, which are sent to the metro and ticket offices of the city. The ticket and lot numbers are entered into the computer, and then when selling, the cashier simply “assigns” a certain number of trips to the ticket.
Every month Mikron produces more than 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
Speaking about this payment instrument, we will have to compare it with its usual analogue, equipped with a magnetic stripe. Actually, this is the main difference.
What is a chip? This is a microprocessor similar in appearance to a SIM card for mobile phone. To put it simply, the chip card has a soldered-in minicomputer. Visa specialists say that “plastic” with a microprocessor holds 80 times more information than its magnetic “brother”.
It turns out that such a tool can combine many programs. That is, one chip card is a salary, a loan, social benefits, debit plastic (in different currencies), a travel card, a bonus accumulator, and an identity card...
Death to scammers
Security is one of the main arguments in favor of a chip product. The fact is that all account information is contained on a magnetic stripe and on a chip. But in computer “plastic” this data is encrypted using complex digital codes and cannot be considered a simple skimmer.
In addition, a magnetic stripe transaction always has the SAME data that is sent to the bank. But the chip transaction is confirmed special code, which is always DIFFERENT. Therefore, even if the scammers managed to fake the chip, nothing will happen to them. Good theory, right? Now let's return to the harsh Russian reality.
Chip card: two in one or a fly in the ointment
Imagine getting into your car and driving to work. Along the way we decided to refuel. But here’s the problem - all the gas stations suddenly disappeared. And in their place are stations serving only electric vehicles.
A rough comparison, but it gets the point across. Refusing cards with a magnetic stripe is an extremely difficult task, as the leader used to say. Too much is tied to them. The transition to chip cards is accompanied by updating equipment or completely replacing it at a time when the end of the depreciation period is still far away, as well as the development and installation of software.
In general, all this is very, very expensive. Therefore, banks in Russia issue combined cards containing both a magnetic stripe and a chip. That is, if the terminal in the store is not configured to service chip cards, then the operation is carried out using a magnetic stripe (and the risk is relevant again, the chip will not help here).
Please note that any operation using a card with a chip always requires entering a PIN code. Many customers do not like this and they believe that they can choose, while standing in the store, to perform an operation using a chip or a magnetic stripe.
This is wrong. Priority will always be given to the microprocessor. If the terminal at a point of sale accepts chip cards, but the cashier tries to roll the “plastic” along the magnetic strip, then nothing will work.
Now the most interesting thing is the cost. Bankers claim that cards with a chip cost the same as magnetic cards. Is it so?
Chip cards - how much is opium for the people?
Let's compare the conditions that banks currently offer. Thus, the Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development equips all cards, starting with Visa Classic and MasterCard Standard, with a chip. For an instant credit card (Unembossed class) for a period of 3.5 years, the client will not pay anything, for a two-year chip “plastic” (Classic and Standard) you will have to pay 450 rubles, and for a “gold” card with a chip - 1,500 rubles.
Sberbank equips all its cards (except instant, Electron with Maestro and American Express payment system instruments) with a chip. Sberbank has an amazing unity: 750 rubles a year and a chip card credit card, and similar, as well as instant credit cards without a chip.
Russian Standard is in no hurry to pamper its clients yet. Only Gold cards are equipped with a chip, the service of which costs 3,000 rubles. But OTP Bank does not issue chip cards at all.
In conclusion, I would like to note that the Visa and MasterCard payment systems see the future in chip and contactless cards. Therefore, sooner or later they will force banks to update their equipment. And very soon all cards will have a chip.
Shanghai will definitely be remembered not only for its skyscrapers, temples and the former French Concession, but also for its public transport, especially how convenient and easy it is to use. 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 a plane, navigating this gigapolis can seem daunting and confusing. That's why we've put together this handy guide to all the transportation options in Shanghai.
Shanghai Public Transport Card
The public transport map is applicable for all public transport in Shanghai. Similar to MetroCard in New York or Octopus in Hong Kong.
You pay a deposit of 20 yuan per card and can immediately credit up to 1,000 yuan, but we don't recommend more than 200 in case the card gets lost somewhere. You can purchase, top up or return your card at the Shanghai State Public Network Service Center at 609 Jiujiang Lu (right next to the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel) or at select subway stations.
Some stations have shops where you can top up your transport card. Basically, replenishment services are performed through a special machine using a Chinese bank card, Alipay or WeChat Wallet.
Shanghai's gigantic underground transport network has 16 lines and is not going to stop developing and expanding. Lines are indicated by numbers and colors. All stations have signs in Chinese and English, which are easy to navigate as they give clear directions to the station, crossings and exits. Station announcements are also provided in Chinese and English.
If you are traveling in the city center, one metro trip will cost 3 yuan, while the maximum fare for long distances will be 9 yuan. If during the month you used an amount greater than 70 yuan, then fares after 70 yuan are calculated at a discount.
Depending on the situation, you can use one-way tickets, travel tickets for a day and for 72 hours, which is very convenient, because these passes have no limit, you can ride from one side of Shanghai to another for at least a whole day, and all with one ticket.
Depending on the lines and stations, the metro starts working from 5:30 am to 22:30 - 23:30 pm.
We have written a lot and in detail about the Shanghai maglev: , and this miracle of Shanghai transport technology, so we will not bore you with the still unchanged data that from Pudong airport with the help of a maglev you can get/fly to the relative center of the city 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 approximately 40 ferry stations.
The ferry ride costs 2 yuan, if you are carrying a bicycle, the fare will be 1.3 yuan on a regular ferry and 2.8 on an air-conditioned ferry, if you are with a scooter, the fare will be 1.5 yuan on a regular ferry and 3 yuan on an air-conditioned ferry.
Not all lines operate 24 hours; some close quite early. Only Dongdong Line, Taigong Line and Jinding Line offer 24-hour service. Only pedestrians are allowed on the Dongjin Line. Cars, trucks or other motorized vehicles are permitted on the Dongnen Line.
There are more than a thousand bus routes in Shanghai. It's convenient and cheap way drive around all of Shanghai if you know where the stations are and where you need to get off. The ticket usually costs 2 yuan, the driver will not have any change for you, so it is better to prepare the fare money in advance.
Please note that not all lines have an Anglicized 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 schedules vary depending on 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 amount of walking, and whether it's best to take the bus or the subway.
Taxis are very convenient for getting around Shanghai, despite the fact that the price is higher than other modes of transport and the drivers do not speak English. Hailing a taxi in Shanghai is relatively easy.
Different colors represent different taxi companies:
Regular taxi: boarding 14 yuan for the first 3 km during the day and 18 yuan at night (23:00-5:00). 2.50 south/km up to 15 km, then 3.60 south/km. In the period from 11:00 to 17:00 the tariff is higher: 3.10yu/km for the first 3 km, then 4.70yu/km after 10 km.
Expo booths (those with a large trunk): boarding 16 RMB during the day and 21 RMB at night.
There are also two hundred champagne gold British luxury taxis operating around the city, aka "city center golden taxis", which are more accessible to people with disabilities. Landing fee is 18 yuan.
It is recommended to prepare a copy of your address in Chinese, make sure you know the nearest intersection. Streets in Shanghai can stretch for kilometers, and taxi drivers often use the nearest intersection as a landmark to know exactly which part of the city you're heading to.
Bicycles for rent
The transport landscape in Shanghai began to change rapidly with the advent of the bike sharing boom. Rows of bicycles for rent can be found everywhere, you can rent them for some 1-2 yuan and go anywhere. Bicycles of different colors come from different companies, the most common being: Mobike (orange), Ofo (yellow) and Xiaoming (blue). This is your cheapest and most convenient transport option in Shanghai if you are traveling relatively short distances.
Everyone's favorite is Mobike, which is currently the only bike rental app available on English language. The app also allows you to reserve a bike near you for up to 15 minutes. Mobike requires you to register with a photo of your passport and a selfie with your passport. Verification takes about 10 minutes.
Didi Chuxing is China's Uber. The application offers a choice of renting a public car or a luxury car with a driver. Guests can choose from taxis, luxury cars and vans. A regular taxi ride can be paid for in cash, while other cars can be paid for through the WeChat or AliPay apps.
And another type of transport in Shanghai is an electric scooter!
Scooters prices range from 400 yuan for a used one to 6,000 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 go 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 journey!
