Living in China

China Subway Guide: How to Ride the Metro as a Foreigner (2026)

By the 17Talk teaching team - certified Mandarin teachers, 8+ years of classroom experience, 3,500+ students in 40 countries
Last updated: 2026-10-15

Why the metro is the default

Surface traffic in Chinese cities is heavy and parking is scarce, so the metro is what residents use and what visitors should use too. Networks are large, stations are clean, and the fare is distance-based - a short hop costs a couple of yuan and a cross-city ride on a modern network is a small multiple of that.

The national regulation behind all of it requires operators to publish the things a stranger needs: fares, first and last train times, the network map, entry and exit directions and transfer guidance at stations, plus arrival times, intervals and direction on the platforms. That is why you can land without any Chinese and still navigate - the information is not a courtesy, it is a requirement.

Taking the metro in China at a glance

Four ways to get through the gate, and the rules that protect you once you are inside. Fares and hotlines are listed with sources on China travel: the official numbers.

Four ways to pay, and which to choose

You do not have to solve this perfectly on day one - a single ticket works fine for your first ride while your payment apps are still settling.

What actually happens at the gate

First the security check: your bag goes through a scanner at the entrance, and staff may ask you to take a bottle of liquid out for inspection. This is routine at every station, not a sign that anything is wrong.

Then the gate. With a single ticket, tap it on the reader - the round reader on top - to enter, and at the exit insert it into the slot on the gate. With a QR code, scan on entry and scan again on exit; both are needed, and missing the second scan leaves your ride unfinished in the system. Keep the ticket or the QR active until you are out of the paid area, because the rules allow staff to check your ticket and passengers must hold a valid one.

If the gate refuses to open on exit, the usual causes are a fare difference on a single ticket or a QR that failed to record the entry. Go to the service window rather than trying another gate.

The rules that work in your favour

Three provisions of the national regulation are worth knowing, because they are what you cite when something goes wrong.

Operators must post service information - fares, first and last train times, maps, directions, transfers - and must publish information about disruptions, closures, crowding controls or suspended service. The operator and the transport authority must each run a complaint channel, handle your complaint promptly and tell you the outcome. And while passengers must hold a valid ticket, the operator can only inspect it - the fare is set under national rules, not improvised at the gate.

One more detail from the same regulation: cities are required to promote the transport card and its interoperability across regions and modes. In practice that means your card or QR code may work on buses and metros across several cities, but not always - a single ticket from one city never transfers.

Things that catch visitors out

Rush hour is real: roughly 7:30-9:30 and 17:30-19:30 in the big cities, when trains arrive full and stations throttle entry. If your plan is flexible, shift it.

Last trains are earlier than you expect. They are posted at stations and in the apps because the rules require it - check before a late dinner, not after.

Interchanges are long walks. A transfer at a major hub can be ten minutes of corridors, so build that into your timing rather than assuming the doors are opposite each other.

Your home city's QR code will not work here. Use the city's own mini-program inside Alipay or WeChat, or the metro app, and finish the real-name step before you are standing at the gate with a queue behind you.

Single tickets do not come with transfer discounts. On Shanghai's network, the official ticket notes are explicit that single tickets and non-Shanghai cards or QR codes get no virtual-transfer treatment - if you are making several rides, a card or a QR code is the better buy.

The words and signs you will actually see

Chinese metro systems are signed bilingually, but the bilingual signs are the ones that matter least - the useful ones are the small characters on doors, exits and the machines. Learning a dozen of them removes almost all of the guesswork.

Exit letters are the single most useful item on the list. Stations have a dozen exits, they can be several hundred metres apart at street level, and the letter beside your destination in a map app is the difference between arriving and walking a block past it.

Getting through the gate without holding up the queue

The gate is where visitors get stuck, and it is almost never the payment method - it is the order of operations. On the way in, present the code or card on the reader, keep the phone or card still until the screen changes, then walk through. On the way out you do exactly the same thing: the fare is settled at the exit gate, not at the entry gate.

If a gate refuses you, do not force it and do not try the next one. Step aside, find the staffed window at the end of the gate line, and show them the phone or ticket - the staff can settle the fare or reset the record in a few seconds. Gates show the reason on the screen in Chinese characters and a colour; the green one means go and everything else means talk to the window.

Transfers, and how the signage works once you are inside

Inside a Chinese metro station you do not follow one line, you follow a colour and a Chinese word. Transfers are marked in yellow, and the transfer corridor usually takes longer than first-timers expect - five to ten minutes between platforms is normal at the big interchanges, so an app that says the journey is 20 minutes may mean 30 door to door.

Two habits help. First, note your destination's exit letter before you go underground, because mobile signal is patchy on deep platforms. Second, when a transfer splits into two directions, the line number is written on the sign above each option - following the number is quicker than reading the stations.

Common questions

Is the metro signed in English?

In every major network, yes - stations, machines, line maps and announcements. The national rules require operators to publish line maps, directions, transfers and fare information at stations, which is why it works for visitors.

Can I buy a ticket with a foreign card?

Machines take cash and, in many cities, QR payments; the service window is the safe fallback. The most reliable combination for a visitor is a QR code inside Alipay or WeChat, or the city app's ride function, which supports third-party and bank-card payment.

How does a single ticket work?

On the Shanghai network the official instructions are: place the ticket on the reader to enter, and insert it into the gate to exit. Buy it from a machine or the service window, and keep it until you are out of the station.

What do I do with my bag?

Put it through the security scanner at the station entrance. It is mandatory at every station and quick; staff may ask about liquids.

What if the gate will not let me out?

Go to the service window. The usual reasons are a fare difference on a single ticket or an entry that a QR code did not record.

Who do I complain to?

Start with station staff and the operator's own complaint channel - the rules require them to handle it and report back. 12328, the national transport service supervision hotline, is displayed on metro premises and takes complaints about urban passenger transport.

Do I pay again when I leave the station?

No. You tap or scan on the way in and again on the way out, but the second scan settles the fare for the whole trip - it is not a second charge. That is also why you must scan out even if the exit gates look open, or the ride can be charged at the maximum fare.

How do I know which exit to use?

Look it up before you go underground and remember the letter. Exits at large stations are numbered A, B, C, D and can be several hundred metres apart at street level; the letter is printed on the signs inside the station corridor above the exit stairs.

Read next

• How to Use DiDi in China as a Foreigner (2026 Setup & Payment)
• Alipay for Foreigners: Setup & the 200 RMB Rule

Sources

• 《城市轨道交通运营管理规定》(交通运输部令 2018 年第 8 号, in force 1 July 2018), State Council gazette (中国政府网) - Article 21: operators must publish fares, first and last train times, network maps, entry/exit and transfer directions at stations, plus arrival times, intervals, directions, transfer and accessibility information on platforms and disruption information; Article 22: fares are set under national rules and transport-card interoperability is promoted; Article 25: both the operator and the transport authority must run complaint channels, handle complaints promptly and inform the passenger of the outcome; Article 26: passengers must hold a valid ticket and the operator may inspect it.
• Shanghai Metro official website (上海地铁, service.shmetro.com, English pages) - ticket usage instructions: physical single-ticket users place the ticket on the reader to enter and insert it into the gate to exit, and single tickets and non-Shanghai cards or QR codes do not receive virtual-transfer treatment; FAQ on the Metropolitan app's ride function: enable the ride function, complete real-name authentication through Alipay or UnionPay, then select third-party payment or bank-card payment; the site also displays the security-check notice and the 12328 transport service supervision hotline.