How to take the subway?

A total of 55 cities in China have metro lines. Foreign travelers can apply for metro passes at the metro station or use Alipay to take the metro.

1. Foreign travelers can buy single-journey tickets at the ticket office or self-service ticketing machine of the metro station. Frequent travelers can buy metro passes at the ticket office of the metro station with your passports. You can make payments for tickets or passes by Chinese or foreign bank cards, in RMB cash, or by mobile payment apps.

2. Some mobile payment apps and metro operators'  apps also support passing the turnstiles by scanning QR codes. The following are the specific operation steps using Alipay as an example. Foreign travelers need to open Alipay, click on "Transport", and select "City". After completing identity verification, you will obtain a QR code for metro. You can enter and exit the metro station by having the QR code scanned.

Source: A Guide to Working and Living in China as Business Expatriates (2025 Edition) issued by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China