You can buy metro cards at many stations(¥20 deposit, recharge machines take 50- and 100-yuan notes). Shanghai Public Transportation Card can be used for one time by overdraft when you take buses, subway trains or ferries. The overdraft should be less than ¥8. Only ordinary cards can be returned. If your ordinary Shanghai Public Transportation Card is complete and clean, it can be recalled and the deposit can be returned to you. The balance on the card can be immediately returned if it is less than ¥10. If the balance on your card is between ¥10 and ¥2,000, invoice should be taken to ask for the return of money; however, a 5% handling fee will be charged. Some subway stations have special offices for the returning of Shanghai Public Transportation Cards. These stations include:
Line 1 - Hanzhong Rd, Hengshan Rd, Jinjiang Park;
Line 2 - Jiangsu Rd, E Nanjing Rd, Century Park, Songhong Rd;
Line 3 - Dongbaoxing Rd, Zhenping Rd, Caoxi Rd, North Jiangyang Rd;
Line 4 - Yangshupu Rd.
Shanghai Public Transportation Card Service Center, No 609, Jiujiang Rd, M-F 9:30AM-6:30PM, Sa Su 9:30AM-4:30PM.
The fast-growing Shanghai Metro network has 12 lines with another 7 under construction (and expansions to existing lines), with nearly all lines operating underground (Line 3 operates above ground). The Metro is fast, cheap, air conditioned and fairly user-friendly with most signs and station arrival announcements bilingual in Mandarin and English, but the trains can get packed during rush hour. Fares range from ¥3-9 depending on distance. There are also one-day cards available which can be purchased for ¥18 (24 hours valid after their first use). Automatic ticket vending machines take ¥1 or ¥0.5 coins and notes and have instructions in English. Most stations on lines 1-3 will also have staff selling tickets, but on the newly-completed lines 6, 8, and 9 ticket purchasing is all done by machine (in both Chinese and English) with staff there only to assist in adding credit to cards or if something goes wrong. You can transfer between lines freely with a single ticket (except at Shanghai Railway Station, Hongkou Football Stadium, and Yishan Lu where a subway pass/Shanghai public transportation card is required for transfer). Metro rides can be paid for using use Shanghai's public transportation card (non-contact). Be careful; certain stations exist on two different lines with the same name but are located in different places (Yishan Lu- Line 3/9 and line 4 are separate stations- transfer between these stations is only possible with a subway pass; Pudian Lu- line 4 and line 6; go to either Century Ave or Lancun Lu to transfer between these lines; Hongkou Football Stadium, Line 3 and 8- transfer is only possible with a Metro pass).
If there are seats available but more passengers boarding than seats, be prepared to see a mad dash (literally) as passengers wrestle for the available seats. This is the norm so move quickly if you want a seat. Be mindful of pickpockets who may use this rush to their advantage.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Shanghai
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Shanghai - updated Apr 2024
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Shanghai Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
