China Metro Guide: Paying, Fares, Last Trains and Airport Lines in 10 Cities

You can ride the metro in all ten of these cities without a Chinese bank account. In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen, you tap a contactless Visa or Mastercard on the gate and walk through. In Chongqing, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Nanjing and Wuhan, the reliable way in is a ride QR code in a phone app with your foreign card linked (Alipay or WeChat in most of them, WeChat's City Pass code or the city metro app in Nanjing), or a single-journey ticket from a machine or the service desk. Fares start at a few yuan and go up with distance. Children under about 1.3 m ride free in most of these cities (Shenzhen's line is lower). Every station has a bag check at the entrance. Most lines stop running somewhere between 10:30 pm and midnight, and each line has its own last train.

How to pay for the metro, city by city

You have four ways to get through the gate. Which one is best depends on the city.

• Tap your bank card at the gate. This is the easiest option where it works. You don't need a ticket, an app or a sign-up.
• A transit QR code (乘车码, chéngchē mǎ, "ride code") in Alipay (支付宝, Zhīfùbǎo), WeChat or the city's metro app. You scan in, scan out, and the fare is charged to the card linked in the app.
• A single-journey ticket from a machine or a staffed window. It's slower, but it works when your phone or card doesn't.
• A transit card or day pass. Worth it if you are staying a while or riding a lot.

Cities where you can tap a foreign card at the gate

Five of the ten cities accept foreign contactless cards at the gates on every line. The table further down lists which card networks each one takes; what you need to know first is when each started and what your card needs:

• Beijing, according to the Beijing municipal government, since 13 September 2024, on every line including both airport lines.
• Shanghai: the Shanghai government's Getting around page says you need enough balance or credit, and small contactless payments without a PIN switched on.
• Chengdu, since 28 July 2025, on every metro and tram gate; the card has to be a contactless chip card, and some cards need small no-PIN payments turned on first.
• Guangzhou, since 12 October 2025, at every gate that shows the card-network logo.
• Shenzhen, since 10 September 2026, as announced by the Shenzhen Transport Bureau; small no-PIN payments must be on, and a phone with the card added also works.

One rule applies everywhere: tap out with exactly what you tapped in with. In Beijing, a physical card and the same card on your phone count as two different cards, so you can't mix them on one trip. If a gate doesn't read your card on the way out, go to the service window before you leave the station. In Chengdu, you have 7 days to fix a missed tap at a station before you are charged the highest single fare on the network.

The table shows the official payment options for all ten cities.

Cities where you can't tap a Visa or Mastercard

In the other five cities, plan on using a QR code, with a ticket machine or staffed window as your backup. What is useful to know in each:

• Chongqing: the gates take only UnionPay QuickPass (闪付, shǎnfù) cards, meaning cards whose numbers start with 62, or a phone wallet with a UnionPay card in it. Visa and Mastercard holders buy a single ticket or a day pass at a staffed ticket window, which has a card machine. If you do tap a UnionPay card, the bank holds 44 yuan when you enter and releases it once the real fare is charged at the exit.
• Hangzhou: Hangzhou's tourism bureau tells visitors to link a Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Diners Club or Discover card to Alipay and get the local ride code under "Transport".
• Xi'an: you can pay with a foreign card at the service-centre card machine at 13 stations, including Xi'an North, Bell Tower, Xiaozhai and the airport stations. Ticket machines take cash, WeChat and Alipay, and the Alipay and WeChat ride codes work at the gates.
• Nanjing: ticket machines sell single tickets paid by WeChat scan, and since 16 December 2025 a ride code in WeChat's "城市通" (Chéngshì Tōng, "City Pass") mini program works at the gates. The official Nanjing Metro app, 与宁同行 (Yǔ Níng Tóngxíng), also gives a gate QR code and can be paid through WeChat, Alipay or UnionPay.
• Wuhan: Alipay and WeChat ride codes work at the gates, and foreign cards can be used at the ticket-office card machine to buy a ticket.

Setting up a QR code

Ride codes work in the five no-tap cities above, and also in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu. If you are visiting several cities, one Alipay or WeChat setup covers most of your trip. In Guangzhou, tapping your card is the simplest option. Beijing's official English instructions show the steps: in Alipay, finish identity verification, link a payment card, then tap Transport → Metro → Get now on the home screen. Use the same code from the same app to enter and exit, and the fare is charged after you exit. WeChat's built-in ride code is not on Beijing's list of accepted apps. In WeChat you use the DiDi or "城市通" mini program instead. Our guides to using Alipay with a foreign card and using WeChat Pay with a foreign card cover the setup step by step.

Single tickets, transit cards and day passes

Single tickets are the fallback when nothing else works. In Beijing, station ticket machines take coins, notes and bank cards, including foreign Visa and Mastercard. One person can buy tickets for the whole group with a foreign card. In Shanghai, every station service centre has a card machine that takes foreign cards for single tickets and day passes.

Transit cards suit longer stays. Beijing sells BEIJING PASS, a version of the city transit card for foreign visitors. You buy it with your passport, the card itself costs 20 yuan and is not refunded, and it works on the metro, buses and taxis. Shanghai's public transport card has a 20-yuan deposit that is refunded if you return the card undamaged. Cards with the 交通联合 (Jiāotōng Liánhé, "T-Union") logo work on public transport in more than 300 cities. Ask at a station service counter whether you can buy one as a visitor.

Day passes give unlimited metro rides for a set time:

• Shanghai: 18 yuan for 24 hours, 45 yuan for 72 hours, sold at station ticket offices. The passes don't cover the Maglev or the airport link line.
• Guangzhou: 20 yuan for 24 hours and 50 yuan for 72 hours from your first entry, sold at any station.
• Chengdu: 20 yuan for one day, 50 yuan for three days and 70 yuan for five days, sold at the pass machines inside stations.
• Chongqing: 18 yuan for one day, 45 yuan for three days and 70 yuan for five days. The one-day and three-day passes can be paid with a foreign card at the ticket window.
• Hangzhou: a physical one-day pass for 15 yuan or a three-day pass for 40 yuan from the station service centre.
• Beijing: electronic passes from 20 yuan for one day to 90 yuan for seven days, sold only in the Yitongxing (亿通行) app. Beijing's transport authorities said in 2024 that an international version was coming, but there's no official word that it takes passport sign-ups yet, so check the app's current status first.

Base fares are low, so a day pass usually only pays off if you take a lot of rides in a day. Buy one when you don't want to think about each ride, not to save money.

How metro fares work

All ten networks charge by distance. In Guangzhou, Shanghai and Wuhan, for example, the fare is based on the shortest route between the station where you enter and the one where you exit, not on the route you actually take. In Beijing you don't pay again when you change lines inside a station, and in most networks a transfer inside the station is part of the same trip. Beijing and Shanghai start a little higher than the rest, and most rides across a city center cost a few yuan.

Chengdu works the same way: 2 yuan for the first 4 km, then rising in distance bands that get longer the farther you go. Shanghai put a fare change to a public hearing on 7 September 2026, and the new fares could take effect at any time after the final plan is published, so check the official Shanghai Metro channels for the current fares before you travel.

A few more details the table doesn't show:

• There is a time limit inside the station. Beijing allows 4 hours between entering and exiting. Chengdu allows 4 hours, and if you go over, you pay the highest single fare from your exit station. Hangzhou allows 240 minutes. Xi'an's limit is shorter, at 210 minutes. Normal sightseeing trips never come close to these limits. They only matter if you wait inside for someone for hours.
• Paying by card or QR code doesn't always get you the local discount. In Shenzhen, the 5% discount only applies to the Shenzhen Tong card or local T-Union cards. Ride codes and bank cards pay the full fare. In Chengdu, ride codes in the city's three official apps get 10% off single-ticket fares. In Nanjing, single tickets get no discount and stored-value cards start at 5% off. On a short trip the difference is tiny. Pick whichever way of paying is easiest for you.
• Beijing gives a monthly discount, but visitors rarely reach it. Once you have spent 100 yuan in a calendar month on the same card or app account (foreign bank cards count), later rides are 20% off. A short visit won't get there.
• Older visitors in Shenzhen ride free. Anyone aged 60 or over can ride the regular cars free with a passport, and the rule is not limited to local residents. Ask at the service centre how to use your passport at the gate.

Airport lines in Beijing and Shanghai are priced separately from the rest of the network. They are covered in the airport section below.

Reading the lines, transfers and exits

The maps work the way they do anywhere else: each line has a number and a color. Station signs and maps show station names in Latin letters next to the Chinese. Three habits will save you most of the confusion:

• Find your direction by the last stop. Platform signs name the final station in each direction. Before you go down to the platform, look up the end station of the direction you want.
• Follow the line number and color at transfers. These are easier to spot from a distance than station names. Signs for changing lines often say 换乘 (huànchéng, "transfer").
• Choose your exit before you reach the gates. Big stations have exits lettered A, B, C or numbered 1, 2, 3 (出口, chūkǒu, "exit"), and they can come out on different blocks. A map app tells you which exit is closest to where you are going.

Some transfers are long walks, and a few require leaving the station. At Hangzhou East railway station, Lines 1 and 4 are under the station building, while Lines 6 and 19 are under the east square. To change between them you leave and walk about 360 m, and the fare continues as one trip if you re-enter within 30 minutes. At Guangzhou South, Guangzhou Lines 2, 7 and 22 connect inside the station with Foshan Line 2, but the Foshan Line 2 transfer passage is about 500 m long, roughly a 7-minute walk.

Beijing has some help in other languages. In 2024, Beijing began testing translation devices at 24 stations on 11 lines. In any city, the staffed service centre near the gates is the place to go for ticket problems.

Check for closures before you set out. In Chengdu, six stations on the eastern section of Line 2 closed on 20 December 2025 for construction, with work expected to finish around October 2026, so check whether they have reopened before planning a route through that end of the line.

For planning routes before you go, the WaysChina app works offline for these ten cities. It has metro route finding with transfers, last-train times and a trip planner, so you can plan a day of sightseeing without a signal. For live directions on the street, use a map app. Our map apps guide compares the options.

First and last trains, and holiday changes

None of these cities has a single opening and closing time for the whole network. Each line, and each direction on a line, has its own first and last train. What the official sources give:

• Beijing: trains run from about 5:00 am to about 11:00 pm, and times vary by line and station. Ticket sales and entry stop 5 minutes before the last train, and the official advice is to arrive 10 minutes early.
• Shanghai: first and last trains are set line by line. Lines 1, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 13 run later on Friday and Saturday nights.
• Chengdu: most lines leave their starting stations between 6:00 and 6:20 am, and their last trains leave between 10:30 and 11:30 pm.
• Chongqing: most main lines run until about 11:00 pm, and Line 3 stops earlier. Check the timetable posted in your station.
• Wuhan: as an example, the new Line 12 runs 6:00 am to 11:00 pm on weekdays and 6:30 am to 11:00 pm on weekends.

The time that matters is the last train from your station, in your direction, and the last connection at your transfer. These are often earlier than the "last train" printed for the start of the line. We keep a line-by-line last-train table for each city: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Nanjing and Wuhan.

Holidays and big events change the hours in both directions. During the 2024 National Day holiday, Beijing ran seven lines serving railway stations and airports later at night or started them earlier in the morning. On 2 and 3 September 2025, some lines closed early or started late, and stations around Tiananmen were closed for a national event. Notices go out on the city government and metro company websites and social accounts. If you are travelling during a national holiday, check them the day before.

If you miss the last train, a taxi or a ride-hailing car is the usual next step. See taxis and ride-hailing in China.

Security checks, banned items and luggage

Every station has a security check (安检, ānjiǎn) at the entrance. You put your bags through an X-ray machine, and anyone who refuses the check can be turned away. This is in the official passenger rules in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Outside rush hour it is usually quick. At busy stations in rush hour, allow a few extra minutes.

Beijing publishes the most detailed list of banned items. Besides weapons and dangerous goods, it bans kitchen knives, utility knives and tools such as hammers, more than 2 ordinary lighters, nail polish or hair dye over 20 ml, and spray cans over 120 ml, such as hairspray or bug spray. Other things that catch visitors out:

• Bikes and scooters: Shanghai bans bicycles, including folding bikes, and bans balance boards, skateboards and scooters (wheelchairs and children's strollers are allowed). Guangzhou allows a folding bike if it is fully packed and within the luggage limits.
• Pets: live poultry, cats and dogs are not allowed in Beijing or Shanghai, apart from guide dogs and police dogs.
• Balloons: inflated balloons are banned in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
• Eating: Beijing's rules ban eating in the train cars, except for babies and people who are ill.

How big a bag you can bring

A normal suitcase is fine in most cities, though Shenzhen charges a luggage ticket for big cases. The limits matter for large or heavy bags:

• Beijing: up to 30 kg, no longer than 1.8 m, and no wider or taller than 0.5 m.
• Shanghai: up to 30 kg, no more than 0.2 cubic metres, and length + width + height no more than 1.8 m.
• Guangzhou: up to 30 kg in total, with length + width + height no more than 1.8 m.
• Xi'an: up to 30 kg, with length + width + height no more than 1.8 m.
• Shenzhen is the strictest. Anything over 30 kg or over 1.6 m (length + width + height) is refused. Bags of 20–30 kg, or 1.4–1.6 m, need a luggage ticket from the service centre, which costs the same as a regular single fare. Tapping a card or scanning a code at the gate won't cover your bag, so go to the counter first.

For the other cities, assume similar limits and ask at the station if your bag is unusually large. Measure a big checked suitcase before you plan a Shenzhen metro trip with it. A large case can easily add up to more than 1.4 m. The real problem with luggage is rush hour, not the rules. Squeezing a big case through a full car at 8:30 am is hard. For airport and station runs at busy times, a taxi is often easier. Our luggage rules guide compares the limits for the metro, trains and flights.

Riding the metro with kids

In most of these cities, a child up to about 1.3 m rides free with an adult. The table shows the rule for each city.

The exceptions and details that matter:

• Shenzhen uses a lower line. Children under 1.2 m or under age 6 ride free. Children from 1.2 to 1.5 m, or aged 6 to 14, pay half fare, but the half-price ticket has to be bought at a station service centre. Stop at the counter first instead of tapping a card for your child at the gate.
• Shanghai's and Guangzhou's rules set no cap on free children per adult. Shanghai's 2025 rules let an adult bring children 1.3 m and under free, and the rules set no cap on how many. Guangzhou's 2024 rules make a child free if they are 1.3 m or under, or below school age, also with no cap in the rules. If your child is tall for their age in Guangzhou, carry their passport to show their age.
• Xi'an limits it to two. Each adult can bring two free children who are 1.3 m and under, or aged 6 and under. Extra children need tickets.
• Wuhan raised its line. Wuhan's new passenger rules, published in December 2025, raised the free-ride height for children from 1.2 m to 1.3 m, with no limit on numbers.
• Beijing lets children 1.3 m and under ride free with an adult. At the gate the child goes through first and the adult follows.

In Nanjing, ask at the service centre about the child fare when you arrive. Strollers are allowed: Shanghai's rules specifically exempt children's strollers from the ban on wheeled devices. Use the wide gate next to the service centre, and take the lifts rather than the escalators.

Taking the metro from the airport

Most of these airports have a rail line into the city. Two things are different from riding across town. Some airport lines charge a separate, higher fare, and some stop earlier than the city lines. If you land late, check the last train before you choose the metro. All the transfer options at each airport, including buses and taxis, are in airport-to-city transfers.

• Beijing Capital (PEK): the Capital Airport Express costs a flat 25 yuan. It stops at Terminal 3, Terminal 2, Sanyuanqiao (change to Lines 10 and 12), Dongzhimen (Lines 2 and 13) and Beixinqiao (Line 5). It has a separate fare from the rest of the metro, so you exit and pay again to change lines. The last train toward the city leaves T3 at 22:52 and T2 at 23:10.
• Beijing Daxing (PKX): the Daxing Airport Express costs 35 yuan between the airport and Caoqiao, or 50 yuan in the business car. At Caoqiao you change to Lines 10 and 19. Trains leave the airport from 06:00 to 23:00. Both Beijing airport lines take foreign cards at the gate. More in our Beijing airports guide.
• Shanghai Pudong (PVG): the Maglev to Longyang Road costs 50 yuan one way. It leaves the airport from 07:02 to 21:42. You can tap a foreign Visa, Mastercard, American Express or JCB card at the gate and pay that same 50-yuan fare. Metro Line 2 is the regular metro link, and it also runs direct to Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2. The airport link line runs from Pudong between 06:00 and 22:15. Its fares run from 4 yuan to 26 yuan for the full trip.
• Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA): Terminal 1 has only Line 10. Terminal 2 has Lines 2 and 10, and Line 10 also goes to Hongqiao railway station. See the Shanghai airports guide.
• Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN): Terminal 1 has been closed for rebuilding since 7 May 2026, and its metro station is shut. To reach Terminal 3, take the intercity line to Baiyun Airport East, or take Line 3 or 9 to Gaozeng and change to the airport shuttle bus.
• Shenzhen Bao'an (SZX): Line 11 links the airport with the city. The Guangzhou and Shenzhen guide covers both cities.
• Chengdu Tianfu (TFU): Line 18 to the South Railway Station costs 10 yuan for the full trip, and Line 19 to Jinxing costs 12 yuan. The non-stop Line 18 trains take about half an hour. Chengdu Shuangliu (CTU): Line 10 stops at both terminals, and Lines 19 and 30 board at Terminal 2.
• Chongqing Jiangbei (CKG): Terminal 2 has Lines 10 and 3, and Terminal 3 has only Line 10.
• Hangzhou Xiaoshan (HGH): Lines 1, 7 and 19 serve the airport station, which opens at 05:50. Line 19 runs to Hangzhou West railway station. Last trains leave the airport at 22:30 on Line 1 toward Xianghu, 22:49 on Line 7 toward Wushan Square and 23:14 on Line 19 toward Hangzhou West.
• Xi'an Xianyang (XIY): Line 14 runs to Xi'an North railway station, where you change to Line 2 for the Bell Tower or Line 4 for the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The last trains into the city leave the airport stations at 22:20 and 22:24.
• Nanjing Lukou (NKG): Line S1 runs to Nanjing South railway station, and since 29 September 2026 its trains continue straight onto Line 6.
• Wuhan Tianhe (WUH): Line 2 goes directly to the airport station, which connects to Terminal 3. For Terminal 2 you change to a shuttle bus.

Useful apps

Alipay or WeChat with your card linked is the one app setup that works for the metro in all ten cities. City metro apps are optional, but two are good for visitors. Shanghai's official Metro Daduhui app lets you register with a passport. Shanghai's SH MaaS app has an English version, takes overseas phone numbers and shows first and last trains for each line. UnionPay's Nihao China app also gives a ride code, which UnionPay says covers 43 metro systems. For directions, Apple Maps lists mainland China as a region where public transit directions are available. Every QR code and map needs mobile data. A travel eSIM such as Airalo gets your phone online as soon as you land. Our China SIM card and eSIM guide compares the options.

Quick summary

• Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen: tap a contactless foreign card at the gate.
• Chongqing, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Nanjing, Wuhan: use a ride code in a phone app, or buy a ticket at a machine or window.
• Fares go by distance and start at a few yuan. Airport lines in Beijing and Shanghai cost more.
• Children about 1.3 m and under ride free in most cities. In Shenzhen the free line is 1.2 m.
• Look up your own last train before a late night out, and allow time for the security check.

To see how the metro fits with buses, taxis and walking, read our guide to getting around Chinese cities. For routes the metro doesn't reach, the public buses guide covers city buses.

Last updated: October 2026