CHINA: Rail Transit Weblinks

China began building its first subway, in Beijing, in July 1965. Limited operation began in 1969, but all stations were not operational until 1972 (one station at the far west end of Line 1 remains opened). Unescorted foreigners were not permitted to use the subway until 1977. The port city of Tianjin began subway construction in 1970. A large earthquake interrupted construction in 1977. Service did not begin until 1980, and then only on a very limited basis: at the time of a 1983 visit, only one track was completed, worked by a single train operating every 30 minutes.

A "People’s Daily" article (below) states that work started in Shenyang during the 1960s but the project was cancelled "for some reason or other" (today’s preferred euphemism for the ten-year period of political turmoil once known as the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution"). Shanghai also started work on a subway during the 1960s, according to an unverified report.

Following this tenuous beginning, Shanghai and Guangzhou opened new subways during the 1990s and several other cities started construction. Chongqing is building an urban monorail line, and Shanghai has built a magnetic-levitation line from a subway terminal to its new international airport.

Various Chinese cities are planning a large mileage of urban rail lines, full-scale metro (heavy rail) and "light rail." Light rail Chinese style is better described as "light metro," that is, full separation but less capacity than full-scale metros. The planned networks will require immense sums, 200 billion yuan for projects under construction or preparation (about U.S. $25 billion). News reports suggest that some of China's leaders have a bad case of "sticker shock." There have been at least two "moratoria" on new subway construction during the past decade, most recently at early 2003

     http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200301/28/eng20030128_110882.shtml

Most of the links below are to web pages by Osamu Abe, Carl Yiu, and UrbanRail.Net; and are in English unless noted. Some may take a while to load.

Population figures are from http://www.welcome-to-china.com/china/city/city.htm , and are assumed to include suburbs as well as the "city proper."

A note about transcription: Mainland China uses the hanyu pinyin ("pinyin") romanization system developed after the People's Republic was established in 1949. Taiwan continued to use the older (and, in the opinion of some, clumsier) "Wade-Giles" romanization system until 2000, when the central government adopted the tongyong pinyin system (similar but not identical to hanyu pinyin ; not all local governments have adopted pinyin romanization). We have distinguished between hanyu pinyin and Wade-Giles romanizations as the following examples illustrate: "Chongqing (Wade: 'Chungking')" for mainland cities, and Kaohsiung (Pinyin: 'Gaoxiang') for cities on Taiwan. We have also used "trad" as an abbreviation for "traditional spellings based on Cantonese," as in "Shenzhen (trad: 'Shum Chun')."

"Simplified Chinese" and "traditional Chinese," below, refer to characters; "simplified" characters are used on the mainland and "traditional" characters are used in Taiwan and in China’s "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "Macau Special Administrative Region."

There is ample opportunity for confusion over planned mode for various projects owing to mistranslation. For example, the two characters pronounced "dianche" have the nominal meaning "electric car" or "electric train." In China, however, many people would recognize the meaning as "trolleybus." This came about because a longer term, "wugui dianche" ("trackless electric car") was abbreviated in colloquial use to "dianche."

Chinese has no unambiguous term for "monorail," and there is ample opportunity for confusion with conventional rail modes. The four-character term used in Chongqing, pronounced "guidao jiaotong," has the nominal meaning "tramway transport" -- or "light rail." A longer term for "monorail," kuaisu guidao jiaotong," adds two characters with the nominal meaning "high-speed" or "fast."

Changchun and Dalian maps drawn by Carl Yiu (below) use two characters pronounced "qinggui" for "light rail." This is an abbreviation for "qingbian guidao," which has the nominal meaning "light railway." (Changchun and Dalian are, with Hong Kong, the last cities in China where traditional street tramways or streetcar lines remain in operation.)

(We have included city names in Chinese characters, and pinyin spellings with tone marks, immediately above the information for each city. Some computers, in particular those with older software, might not display these correctly.)

 

北京 Běijīng

Beijing (Wade: "Peking;" 10.9 million): First line started 1965, opened 1968 – 1972.

UrbanRail.Net page: http://www.urbanrail.net/as/beij/beijing.htm

Osamu Abe map: http://osamuabe.infoseek.livedoor.com/subway/mappage/beijin.gif

 

Carl Yiu map of current network; includes line 13 ("Cityrail"; aka "light rail"):

     http://subwayfuture.nease.net/e/city/beijing.htm

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/bjcs.gif Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/bjct.gif

 

Carl Yiu map showing current network and north-south Line 5, now under construction:

     http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/bje.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/bjs.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/bjt.gif

Near-term (2008) plan map, simplified Chinese:

     http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/bjplan.jpg An ambitious subway expansion plan is included among the various Olympics projects.

Long-term plan dated 1999; 13 lines, 408.2 km (!):

     http://www.bjinvestau.com/project/correlative/images/gdjt.gif

 

长春 Chángchūn

Changchun (2.4 million): "LRT" or "light rail metro" line opened 2002 December 28.

UrbanRail.Net description: http://www.urbanrail.net/as/changchun.htm

 

Carl Yiu map: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/cce.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/ccs.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/cct.gif

 

长沙 Chángshā

Changsha (1.5 million): Planned.

This city is mentioned as one of about 20 planning a subway in a newsletter article:

     http://highmarkfunds.stockpoint.com/highmarkfunds/newspaper.asp?Mode=asi&Story=20030205/036u7678.xml .

 

成都 Chéngdū

Chengdu (Wade: "Chengtu;" 3.0 million): Planned.

Two different reports: three subway lines planned, with Line 1 to extend 26 km (Osamu Abe

     http://osamuabe.infoseek.livedoor.com/subway/tearoom/future.htm ). A second, possibly subsequent, report: 5 lines totaling 110 km planned, with the first 15-km, 17-station phase under construction in 2001.

Detailed information on "Commercial Projects in SW China page," British Embassy, Beijing: http://www.britishembassy.org.cn/english/chongqing/cpiswc1.shtml

 

重庆 Chóngqìng

Chongqing (Wade: "Chungking;" 30 million): Monorail, opened 2004 June 18 after several months of limited “trial” operation.

Chongqing, the largest city in Sichuan (Wade: "Szechuan") province, has built China’s first monorail. Responses (pre-opening) from foreign observers ranged from enthusiasm to skepticism; one correspondent asked why China is building this project. The short answer might be "politics." One factor that certainly caught the attention of Chinese planners is the promise of lower construction costs for monorail than elevated conventional rail. There are, of course, trade-offs: monorail lines require full separation, cannot provide through workings with conventional rail lines, and operation of networks, with trains moving from one line to another, has been demonstrated only on a limited scale by two Japanese systems. However, even if monorail proves impractical for Chinese cities, it certainly has potential for export. China will someday become a major exporter of manufactured goods, just as Japan and South Korea have; quality will be every bit as good and at less cost.

China’s first monorail project was prompted by a very favorable offer from Hitachi, including technology transfer. Chinese planners may have chosen Chongqing as the "venue" owing to geographic factors: most Chinese cities are pancake-flat, but Chongqing has significant grades. It is also known for poor air quality, owing to atmospheric "inversion" effects that trap polluted air close to ground level.

The location decision might also have been shaped by politics. News media have reported that China’s leadership is divided over the question of technology choice for high-speed ground transport: magnetic-levitation technology enjoys considerable support but most railway officials want to build Japanese-style shinkansen lines. There may well be a behind-the-scenes controversy over monorail technology. Chongqing has a large population, high-density corridors and challenging geography, and is also one of the four Chinese cities administered directly by the central government. Bureaucrats in Beijing (Wade: "Peking") who think that monorail is a good idea have a relatively free hand to demonstrate this. More skeptical transport officials may appreciate that Chongqing is a good distance from most other Chinese cities planning or building fixed-guideway transport.

Another factor: financing. According to “Tramways & Urban Transit,” the Japanese government paid 57 percent of the project cost, which was stated at 47 thousand million Japanese yen , about U.S. $415 million.

A previous metro (subway) project in Chongqing stalled owing evidently to financial difficulties.

Construction of the Chongqing monorail was started during the 1998 fiscal year. The project website is http://www.cqmetro.cn . This contains much of interest, including many photos and illustrations, but in Chinese only and without external links to individual pages. (External links mentioned by various sources, including the Monorail Society discussion list, no longer work.)

The population figure above is for all of Chongqing Municipality ( chongqing shi ), established 1997, which covers 31,660 square miles (82,000 km 2 ). See:

      http://www.welcome-to-china.com/china/city/cq.htm

UrbanRail.Net page: http://www.urbanrail.net/as/chon/chongqing.htm

 

Carl Yiu map: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/cqe.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/cqs.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/cqt.gif

Map with gradient profile and other information, simplified Chinese: unfortunately, the link to this page is no longer active.

Long-term plan, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/cqplan.jpg

The route of the current monorail on this map defies concise explanation, but: it’s the bright green line extending westward from the confluence of the two rivers (the larger is the Changjiang, known in the West as the Yangtse.).

Detailed information on "Commercial Projects in SW China page," British Embassy, Beijing:

     http://www.britishembassy.org.cn/english/chongqing/cpiswc1.shtml

A SINA article states the Chongqing metro project was stopped halfway due to financial shortages during the mid-1990s, see here

     http://edu.sina.com.cn/en/2003-02-04/9152.html

 

大连 Dàlián

Dalian : (trad, after Japanese: "Dairen;" 2.3 million): New "light rail" line opened for "trial operation" in 2002.

 

Carl Yiu map: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/dle.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/dls.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/dlt.gif

Mentioned as one of the 20 cities planning new subways.

 

廣州 Guǎngzhōu

Guangzhou (trad., after French transcription: "Canton;" 3.6 million): First line started 1993, opened 1999.

Official Guangzhou Metro website is at http://www.gzmtr.com

UrbanRail.Net page: http://www.urbanrail.net/as/guan/guangzhou.htm

Osamu Abe map: http://osamuabe.infoseek.livedoor.com/subway/mappage/guangzho.gif

 

Carl Yiu map: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/e/city/gzmtr.htm

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gzcs.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gzct.gif

 

Carl Yiu map of planned network: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gze.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gzs.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gzt.gif

Same map, Japanese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gzj.gif (the fact that Japanese is not at all the same language as Chinese becomes apparent even upon casual comparison!)

 

Carl Yiu map of "Guang-Fo" metro project (western suburbs), to open 2006:

     http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gfe.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gfs.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gft.gif

 

Carl Yiu translation of long-term regional plan for Central Pearl River Delta, "Project A:"

      http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gzplanea.jpg ; 470.5 km route length, or 537.5 km including suburban lines.

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://www.gzmtr.com/newline/tu2.jpg .

"Project B:" http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gzplaneb.jpg , 447.7 km route length, or 514.7 km including suburban lines. Project B appears to be an alternative to Project A.

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://www.gzmtr.com/newline/tu1.jpg .

 

Carl Yiu map of long-term plan for Eastern Pearl River Delta:

     http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gdee.gif ; a large network of lines between Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gdes.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gdet.gif

 

Carl Yiu map of long-term plan for Western Pearl River Delta, simplified Chinese and English:

     http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gdws.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese and English: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/gdwt.gif

 

杭州 Hángzhōu

Hangzhou (Wade: "Hangchow;" 1.7 million): Planned.

Line 1 to extend 52 km (Osamu Abe).

Highmark Funds news item stating that the project continued despite the State Council's 2003 moratium:

     http://highmarkfunds.stockpoint.com/highmarkfunds/newspaper.asp?Mode=asi&Story=20030205/036u7682.xml

 

哈尔滨 Hāěrbīn

Harbin (3.1 million): Planned, construction pending.

Osamu Abe map:

     http://osamuabe.infoseek.livedoor.com/subway/mappage/constmap/harbin.jpg

Construction of the first 14.4-km (8.9-mi) segment of Line 1, with 16 stations, was authorized by the State Council in July 2005. The project will utilize an existing 6.3-km (3.9-mi) tunnel, described as an “air-defense tunnel compliant with metro standards.” Completion is planned for 2009.

Project description by Harbin municipal government:

     http://www.harbin.gov.cn/english/investment/hrb_zsyz/display_template.php?id=397

 

Description by Harbin Business Exchange (“Harbex”). http://www.harbex.org/bus_ops.html

 

香港 putonghua: Xiānggǎng , guangdonghua : Heūng góng

Hong Kong (7 million): First line started 1974, opened 1979.

Mass Transit Railway Corporation official website:

     http://www.mtr.com.hk/prehome/index.html (Chinese and English).

UrbanRail.Net page: http://de.geocities.com/m_hong_kong/hong-kong.htm

Osamu Abe map: http://osamuabe.infoseek.livedoor.com/subway/mappage/hongkong.gif

 

Carl Yiu map simplified Chinese and English: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/hks.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese and English: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/hkt.gif

 

Carl Yiu map, planned 2016 network: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/hkplane.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/hkplans.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/hkplant.gif

Hong Kong Place long-term plan, traditional Chinese:

     http://www.hk-place.com/b/b335001.gif

 

昆明 Kūnmíng

Kunming (1.6 million): This city is mentioned as one of about 20 planning a subway.

 

澳門 Àomén

Macao (500,000): Light rail planned.

     http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200211/25/eng20021125_107438.shtml

 

(Note: The official name of the Special Administrative Region is “Aomen” in Common Chinese ( putionghua) , the official Portuguese spelling is “Macau” and the official English spelling is “Macao.”)

 

南京 Nánjīng

Nanjing (Wade: "Nanking;" 2.6 million): First line started 2000, opened 2005 August 27 after several weeks of “trial” operation.

UrbanRail.Net page: http://www.metropla.net/as/nan/nanjing.htm

 

Carl Yiu map of route under construction: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/nje.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/njs.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/njt.gif

Long-term plan, simplified Chinese http://www.nj-dt.com/imagew/gif/all-line-big.JPG

(The bridge between lines 3 (pink) and 5 (blue) is the "Changjiang daqiao," the "Great Yangtse River Bridge, built during the 1960s without foreign technical assistance. As the map suggests, the Chinese remain proud of this engineering feat; the river is about a mile wide and the entire structure extends four miles.)

 

青岛 Qīngdǎo

Qingdao (Wade: "Tsingtao;" 2.2 million): Planned.

Osamu Abe map:

     http://osamuabe.infoseek.livedoor.com/subway/mappage/constmap/qingdao.jpg

Project Brief for Qingdao Metro first phase:

     http://www.qingdaochina.com/eng/01a.asp?idd=12

A SINA article states the project was stopped halfway due to financial shortages during the mid-1990s: http://edu.sina.com.cn/en/2003-02-04/9152.html

 

上海 Shànghǎi

Shanghai (13.5 million): First line opened 1995.

Official (?) website: http://www.shmetro.net

UrbanRail.Net page: http://www.urbanrail.net/as/shan/shanghai.htm

Osamu Abe map: http://osamuabe.infoseek.livedoor.com/subway/mappage/shanghai.gif

 

Carl Yiu map: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/she.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/shs.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/sht.gif

 

Carl Yiu map, near-future map: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/shplane.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/shplans.gif

Long-term urban plan, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/shplan.jpg

Long-term regional plan, simplified Chinese:

     http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/shplan1.jpg

 

沈阳 Shěnyáng

Shenyang (3.9 million): Approved, construction to begin by the end of 2005, opening planned for 2012.

Line 1 to extend 21.7 km with 17 stations (Osamu Abe).

Start of construction announced for 2003:

     http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200209/26/eng20020926_103922.shtml

Earlier announcement of construction start:

     http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200103/01/eng20010301_63763.html

 

深圳 Shēnzhèn

Shenzhen (trad.: "Shum Chun;" 5 million): First lines opened 2004 December 28.

UrbanRail.Net page: http://www.urbanrail.net/as/shen/shenzhen.htm

 

Carl Yiu map: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/sze.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/szs.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/szt.gif

Long-term plan: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/szplan.jpg

See West Pearl River Delta under Guangzhou (above) for long-term regional plan.

 

石家庄 Shíjiāzhuāng

Shijiazhuang (Wade: "Shih-chia-chuang," 1.4 milluon): This city is mentioned as one of about 20 planning a subway.

 

苏州 Sūzhōu

Suzhou (Wade: "Soochow," 5.7 million): Subway or light metro planned.

"Three lines" planned (Osamu Abe).

"Light rail" project announcement from Yangtse News:

     http://www.yangtse.com/gb/content/2003-01/17/content_624541.htm , better described as a "light metro." Huge regional network planned.

 

天津 Tiānjīn

Tianjin (Wade: "Tientsin;" 8.8 million): First line started 1970, opened 1980. Closed for reconstruction and extension in 2001; re-opening scheduled for 2005 (but had not occurred at 2005 October). Jinbin “LRT” (elevated heavy rail) line opened for “trial” service on 2004 March 28.

Official (?) website with several illustrations of planned future elevated lines:

     http://www.urbanrail.net/as/tian/tianjin.htm

UrbanRail.Net page: http://www.urbanrail.net/as/tian/tianjin.htm

Osamu Abe map: http://osamuabe.infoseek.livedoor.com/subway/mappage/tenshin.gif

 

Carl Yiu map: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/tje.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/tjs.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/tjt.gif

 

Jinbin "LRT" near-future plan: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/tjlrt.jpg , extends east to the port.

 

武汉 Wǔhàn

Wuhan (3.9 million): First line opened 2004 September 28.

UrbanRail.Net page: http://www.urbanrail.net/as/wuha/wuhan.htm

 

Carl Yiu map: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/whe.gif

Same map, simplified Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/whs.gif

Same map, traditional Chinese: http://subwayfuture.nease.net/map/wht.gif

 

无锡 Wúxī

Wuxi (Wade: "Wu-hsi;" 4 million): This city mentioned as one of about 20 planning a subway (or some form of urban rail transport).

 

西安 Xī'ān

Xi'an (Wade: "Hsi-an;" 2.6 million): Planned.

5 lines planned, Line 1 to extend 19.8 km (Osamu Abe).

 

郑州 Zhèngzhōu

Zhengzhou (Wade: "Chengchow;" 1.5 million): This city mentioned as one of about 20 planning a subway (or some form of urban rail transport).

 

The International Union of Public Transport (UITP) has a Chinese-language website at

     http://www.uitp.com.cn/pindex.htm

 

A subways.net page: http://www.subways.net/china/index.htm , lists various cities as having subway or LRT projects.

 

The Monorail Society website states that other monorails are planned in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Hefei. However, no confirmation could be found online – and, as outlined above, there is ample opportunity for confusion owing to mistranslation.