China Metro and Bus Guide 2026: Ride Like You Live There2026 中国地铁和公交指南：像本地人一样乘车

1 Why the metro is the answer for most trips 为什么地铁是大多数行程的首选

Fifty-five cities in China now run a metro. That is a lot of stations, and a metro is the cheapest, fastest, and least painful way to move inside any of them. No bargaining. No surge. No road traffic. You tap or scan, the train shows up, you get out at the right stop. If you only learn one transport system in China, learn this one.中国目前有 55 座城市开通了地铁。站点铺得很密，而地铁是在其中任何一座城内移动最便宜、最快、最不折腾的方式。不议价、没有溢价、不堵车。你刷卡或扫码，列车到站，在正确的站点下车。若你只学一种中国交通系统，就是它。

Buses still matter, and so do airport runs and a few edge cases, but the metro does the heavy lifting. This guide explains the four ways to pay, the new tap-your-card option that landed in 2026, the bus rules that catch first-timers, and what to do at the airport without joining a taxi queue.公交同样重要，机场往返和少数边角情况也不可不讲，但扛大头的还是地铁。本指南会讲清四种支付方式、2026 年新上线的刷卡直进、以及新手最常踩坑的公交规则，和怎么到机场又不用去排出租车长队。

2 Plan the route before you leave the hotel 出门前列好路线

Step one is figuring out which line and which station, and you do that in the hotel on the hotel's Wi-Fi. AMap (Gaode) is the most reliable map in China, has an English interface, and uses the same place names a taxi driver will recognise. Apple Maps is fine in the very biggest cities and gets patchy once you leave them. MetroMan is a free offline subway map for the major systems; it cannot route from your live location, but it draws a clean line diagram when you just need to know which line to take.第一步是先弄清楚哪条线、哪个站，趁在酒店用酒店的 Wi-Fi 查。地图用高德最稳，英文界面完整，地名和出租车司机能对上。苹果地图在最大几座城里能用，出了这几座就稀稀拉拉。MetroMan 是主流系统的免费离线地铁图，它不会从你的实时位置规划，但能画一张干净的网络图，你只想知道该坐哪条线时够用。

Sort this out before you walk out the door. A panic decision at a turnstile is the most common first-day mistake, and a calm two-minute route check on a phone with a signal prevents it. Our China maps guide中国地图指南 walks through AMap, Apple Maps and Baidu Maps in more depth, and our first 24 hours guide「抵达后 24 小时」指南 covers the landing day end to end.在出门前把这事做掉。在闸机前手忙脚乱，是首日最常犯的错；用有信号的酒店 Wi-Fi 安安静静查两分钟，就能躲过去。我们的「中国地图指南」更细地讲高德、苹果地图和百度地图，我们的「抵达后 24 小时」指南则完整覆盖落地那一天。

3 How to pay, four ways ranked 四种支付方式，从优到次

There are four ways to get through a metro gate, and they are not equal for a foreign visitor. The ranking below reflects how much each one can go wrong on day one.过闸机有四种方式，对外国游客来说它们并不等价。下面按对首日游客的友好程度排序。

• Tap your bank card at the gate.直接刷卡进站。 In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, foreign-issued UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards work directly at the gate. No ticket, no app. Covered in section 4 below.
• Scan the metro QR in Alipay.扫支付宝里的地铁码。 In Alipay tap 出行 (Transport), pick your city, pass the identity check, and a metro QR appears. Scan it to enter and again to exit. The code must be activated separately for each city.
• Buy a stored-value city card.买一张储值城市卡。 A small refundable deposit, balance and the card itself are refundable, and the same card works on buses and some ferries. Buy it at the staffed ticket window with your passport.
• Buy a single-journey token.买单程单次票。 From the ticket window or a self-service machine. Fine for one ride, awkward if you change lines.

A note on the self-service machines. They have an English interface, but not all of them take international bank cards. Some take only coins, some only small notes. If you need to use a foreign card, go to the staffed window. The window always takes cash and almost always takes an international card or an app payment. Use the staffed window, the machine will waste your time.关于自助购票机多说一句：它们都有英文界面，但并不是每一台都收境外卡。有的只收硬币，有的只收小面额纸币。若你要用境外卡付款，就去人工窗口。人工窗口一定收现金，也基本都能刷境外卡或扫码支付。去人工窗口，自助机会浪费你的时间。

About the QR code in Alipay. The 出行 button sits on the Alipay home screen, and the city you want is the first thing it asks for. Identity verification wants your passport number. Once that is done, a metro QR appears and works the same way as the city's own app would. The catch: the code is city-specific. Switching from Shanghai to Beijing means activating a second code, not the same one working twice. The 2025 official guide covers this in more detail and the 2026 edition keeps it the same.关于支付宝里的地铁码：在支付宝首页就能找到「出行」按钮，它第一件事就是让你选城市。实名验证要你的护照号。完成后会出现一个地铁码，使用方式与该城自己的 App 一致。注意：每个城市的码是独立的。从上海换到北京，要激活第二个码，而不是同一个码两头都能用。2025 年版官方指南讲得更细，2026 年版沿用了同样规则。

4 The new option: tap your card at the gate in four cities 2026 新增：四城刷卡直进

This is the 2026 update most first-timers will miss. Foreign passengers can now tap a bank card directly at the metro gate in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu. The card is held against the card reader, the gate opens, the fare is charged to the card. No ticket. No app. No top-up. It is the same gesture that gets you on the London Underground, but in China.这是 2026 年最重要的更新，多数首访游客都会错过。外国旅客现在可以在北京、上海、广州、成都四座城市的闸机上直接刷卡进站。把卡贴近感应区，闸门打开，扣款。没有票、没有 App、也不用充值。动作和在伦敦地铁一样，但地点在中国。

The accepted cards are UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard and American Express. The 2025 official guide listed Beijing only; the 2026 edition adds Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, and extends the same option to the Beijing S2 suburban railway line, the Shanghai maglev and the Shanghai 市域 and suburban rail lines. That is a real expansion, not a wording change.支持的卡包括银联、Visa、万事达和美国运通。2025 年版官方指南只列出北京；2026 年版新增上海、广州、成都，并把同一选项延伸到北京 S2 市郊铁路、上海磁悬浮以及上海的市域/郊线铁路。这是真正的扩面，不是换个说法。

Support still varies by station. The card reader at one gate may be live while the next is not. Look for the acceptance marks on the gate, the small card logos, and when in doubt ask the staff at the ticket window or the platform. They will point you to a working gate. If the bank card tap fails, fall back to the Alipay QR or the staffed window; nothing about the gate option is a hard requirement.支持程度仍然因站而异。一个闸机的读卡器可能已经开通，旁边一台可能还没。看闸机上的受理标志、那些小小的卡标；拿不准就问售票窗口或站台的工作人员，他们会把你指向一台能用的闸机。刷卡失败就退回支付宝码或人工窗口；闸机刷卡不是硬性要求，绕过去也不亏。

• What works.能用什么。 UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, foreign-issued and domestic.
• Where it works.哪里能用。 Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu metro, plus Beijing S2 suburban line, Shanghai maglev and Shanghai suburban/市域 lines.
• What to do if a gate rejects you.被拒怎么办。 Try the next gate, the staff at the ticket window, or fall back to the Alipay QR.

5 Riding the bus, what is different 坐公交，有什么不同

City buses are slower than the metro and they get stuck in traffic, but they reach streets the metro does not touch. In some smaller cities the bus network is also the only real public transport. The rules for paying, though, are different from the metro in two ways that catch people out.城市公交比地铁慢，会堵车，但它去地铁到不了的街。在一些小城市，公交也是唯一靠谱的公共交通。不过付费规则有两点跟地铁不同，常让新手栽跟头。

First, on buses you scan or tap twice. Once when you board, once when you get off. The fare is a distance-based fare, not a flat entry, and the second tap tells the system how far you rode. Forget the second tap and you will be charged the maximum fare or the gate at the next stop will not open for the next rider. Do not be the person holding up the door.第一，公交上下车都要扫码或刷卡一次。上车扫一次，下车再扫一次。票价按距离计，不是单一票价；第二次扫码告诉系统你坐了多远。忘扫第二次要么被扣全程最高价，要么下车站的车门打不开，堵住后面的人。别当那个把车门卡住的人。

Second, cash on a city bus means exact change. Drivers do not give change, and they cannot wave you off the fare for the sake of politeness. If the box wants five yuan and you have a ten, you are overpaying by five. A bus company transport card is the simplest fix: buy it at the bus company's service outlet with your passport and top it up the same way you would a metro city card.第二，公交车投币要零钱。司机不找零，也不会因为你是外国人就免掉那一块两块。如果票价 5 元、你只有 10 元，就多付了 5 元。最简单的办法是买一张公交公司的交通卡：持护照到公交公司服务点办理，充值方式和地铁一卡通一样。

On the Chengdu bus network, the same tap-your-card option that works at the metro gate works on the onboard POS machine. UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard and American Express all work; no ticket, no app. If you are in Chengdu and you do not have a transport card yet, that is the fastest path through the door.在成都公交上，地铁闸机的「直接刷卡」同样适用，，上车在车载 POS 上拍一下就行。银联、Visa、万事达、美国运通都支持，没有票、没有 App。你在成都、又没有交通卡的话，这是最快进车厢的路径。

One more thing on the metro and bus. Many stations run airport-style security at the entrance. Bags go through an X-ray, you walk through a metal detector. This is not a Western airport and it is not a problem, but it does add two to four minutes at the entrance, and it is the reason a five-minute walk to the platform sometimes takes fifteen. Allow for it.关于地铁和公交再说一件：很多地铁站在入口处要做机场级别的安检。包过 X 光机，人过金属探测门。这不是西方机场的安检，也不会卡你太久，但它确实在入口处多花 2 到 4 分钟，这也是为什么五分钟走到站台有时要花十五分钟。

6 Airport and station runs 机场和高铁站的最后一程

Most cities run an airport line, either as part of the metro network or as a separate suburban rail line. The Beijing S2 line and the Shanghai maglev both accept the same tap-your-card option described in section 4. Other airport metro lines work the same as the city metro, with a slightly higher fare. Buy a token at the airport station, or activate the Alipay metro QR before you board, and you are at the city centre for the price of a coffee.大多数城市都有机场线，要么是地铁网的一部分，要么是单独的市郊铁路。北京 S2 线和上海磁浮都支持第 4 节提到的同一种刷卡方式。其他机场地铁线使用规则与市内地铁一致，只是票价略高。在机场站买张单程票，或提前激活支付宝的地铁码，就能花一杯咖啡的钱坐到市中心。

Allow extra time at the airport metro station. They are bigger than the average city station, the ticket machines have queues, and security checks the same bags that are about to be checked again at the airport. Forty minutes from platform to check-in counter is a comfortable budget for a first ride.在机场地铁站多留点时间。它比一般市内站大，售票机要排队，安检会翻那些到机场还要再过一次的行李。第一次坐，从站台到值机柜台留出 40 分钟是舒服的预算。

For the long-haul airport runs where you would rather not think about transfers with luggage, a pre-booked private transfer is a real option. Our airport transfer guide机场往返指南 compares the three honest choices (metro, taxi, pre-booked car) and when each one wins.若你拖着行李、不想再为换乘操心一趟远机位的机场往返，预约一个专车是正经选项。我们的「机场往返指南」把这三种诚实选项（地铁、出租车、预约车）做了对比，并讲清楚各自什么时候更划算。

• Use the metro for.用地铁的场景。 Short-haul airports with a direct metro line and light luggage.
• Use a pre-booked car for.用预约专车的场景。 Late-night arrivals, large luggage, or airports far from the city centre. Book an airport transfer on trip.com在 trip.com 预约机场接送.
• Use a taxi for.用出租车的场景。 When the metro is closed and the app is glitchy. Our DiDi guide滴滴指南 covers ride-hail in more depth.

7 Mistakes and etiquette to know 易错点与乘车礼仪

The metro in China is calm, clean and well-signed. Most rules of etiquette are common sense, and most mistakes are cheap. Still, a few things are worth knowing before your first ride.中国地铁安静、干净、指示清晰。大部分礼仪都是常识，大部分错误代价也低。但还是有几件事，在第一次坐之前值得知道。

• Queue at the gate.闸机前排队。 Stand to one side, let riders off the train first, then walk in.
• No eating.不要在车厢里吃。 Food and drinks with open lids are a no. A sealed water bottle is fine.
• Offer seats to elders.给老人让座。 Priority seats (优先座位) are clearly marked and the social pressure to give them up is real.
• Keep noise down.压低声音。 Phone calls are uncommon in the carriage. Speaker calls, video and music without earphones are rude.
• Mind the gap.小心站台缝隙。 Especially on older lines, the gap between platform and train is wide. Watch your step.
• Watch the direction.看清方向。 Many lines run two directions on two sides of the platform. The sign above the platform and the announcement in English both name the next station.
• Move inward.往里走。 If you board at a busy stop, walk all the way in before stopping. Blocking the door holds the train.

The single most common first-day mistake is waiting in the ticket-machine queue for ten minutes, then discovering the machine does not take your foreign card. Use the staffed window for the first ride, sort out a card or an app for the rest of the trip, and after day one the metro is on autopilot.首日最常见的错，是在自助售票机前排了十分钟才发现不收你的卡。第一次坐用人工窗口，剩下的行程用办好的卡或装好的 App，第一天之后地铁就自动运转了。

Frequently asked questions常见问题