"Me first" is how many travelers describe mainland Chinese. A lot of things that would be extremely rude in the western world are considered normal here: line-jumping, crowding, pushing, spitting, and even littering is status quo; about the only thing that will cause them to pause is a policeman wielding a large ticket book.
Pushing in the metro is normal, especially at the chaotic People's Square Station. Just dig in and push; don't feel sorry. However, compared to public transport in other Chinese cities, the Shanghainese are better at letting people alight first and the mad rush for empty seats is not quite so bad - your behaviour should follow the situation: if the station is crowded then pushing is acceptable, but if not then you are more likely to be looked upon as an 'uncivilised foreigner'. Also, outside of busy times you should stand to the right on escalators to allow people to pass.
Note that Shanghai Metro drivers will close the train doors and depart when the schedule says so, even if people are still boarding. When you hear the 'door closing' alarm (usually a series of beeps) stand back from the doors (particularly on the old Line 1 and 2 trains as the doors close very quickly and may not re-open if blocked).
Crowding (aka no line) is another problem you're likely to encounter. Whether at a ticket booth, at a busy fast food counter, or even at the grocery store, everyone jockeys for position by crowding around a staff member (say, to recharge their jiaotong card), and will do whatever possible to get in first, and get out. If at all possible, avoid the situation in the first place by finding a quiet ticket counter and recharging early (Alternatively, head over to one of the white terminals and recharge directly from a UnionPay card).
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.
