Guangzhou is an important industrial, scientific and commercial center of China with a very developed transportation system. One of the components of this system is the subway. It is the sixth largest in the world in terms of passenger traffic. What else is interesting Guangzhou subway? This will tell our article.
Guangzhou - a city of furniture, chandeliers and plumbing
Guangzhou is an amazing city in China. In its vicinity, there is the Foshan shopping center with a huge selection of construction, decoration materials, as well as plumbing products. In the suburbs of Guangzhou, at least one thousand furniture factories and companies are concentrated. Their total total area is 3.5 million square meters! In addition, about 60% of all chandeliers and lamps in China are produced in the city. It is for these reasons that Guangzhou is sometimes jokingly called the "capital of furniture and chandeliers."
Speaking more seriously, this city is a major scientific, educational and commercial-industrial center of China. Without exaggeration, Guangzhou can be called one of the country's main industrial locomotives. The population of the metropolis has long exceeded 10 million people.
In this article, we will focus on the transport of the Chinese city, namely, the metro system. Guangzhou boasts a highly developed and well-thought-out transportation system, which includes the subway, trolley buses, buses, and high-speed trains.
Acquaintance with the subway. General facts
If you travel by plane, the subway will become the second facility in this metropolis that you will meet. Guangzhou Airport is located north of the city . The metro station of the same name is located at its South Terminal. It is here that the orange branch of the local metro originates - the longest in the whole world.
In 1997, the first carriage with passengers drove under the city of Guangzhou. The local subway system became the fourth in a row in the PRC. Today it is one of the top ten global metro systems in terms of size and congestion. Until 2020, it is planned to lay at least three more lines.
The metro in Guangzhou goes far beyond the city, linking the metropolis with a number of suburban settlements. More than 800 wagons carry passengers here daily. Daily passenger traffic is estimated at about 1.8 million people. The fare is paid using tokens or special payment cards and depends on the distance. Disabled persons and elderly people (over 65) use the underground services for free.
Guangzhou metro map: lines and stations
Today, there are 9 metro lines in the city. Each of them in the diagram is indicated in a separate color:
- Line 1 (yellow).
- Line 2 (blue).
- Line 3 (orange).
- Line 4 (green).
- Line 5 (red).
- Line 6 (purple).
- Line 8 (light blue).
- Line Guangfo-1 (light green).
- AWP line (blue).
Two more lines (seventh and ninth) are now actively under construction.
The total number of operating stations is 144. The total length of all nine lines is 236 kilometers. All Guangzhou subway stations are signed in two languages: Chinese and English. Indices and other information signs underground are also bilingual.
Features and interesting facts
Almost all travelers note that the subway in Guangzhou is special. True, it is impossible to compare it in beauty with Stockholm or Moscow. The decoration and design of local stations is characterized by minimalism, restraint and a certain asceticism. Alas, there is no magnificent decor, beautiful stained-glass windows and mosaics.
The fare in the subway of Guangzhou directly depends on the distance. For one-time or rare trips, it is more profitable to buy tokens, for reusable ones - special cards. Thanks to thoughtful navigation and numerous maps, navigating in the local metro is very easy, even without knowledge of the Chinese language.
Surely all tourists will be interested to get acquainted with the most interesting facts and features of the Guangzhou subway. Here they are:
- passenger platforms here are separated from the tracks by continuous glass partitions that open simultaneously with the doors of a train that has arrived;
- at stations and platforms, mobile barriers are very often found to regulate the movement of passengers (like those at airports);
- the subway in Guangzhou is quite spacious, large crowds are rare even at rush hour;
- at the stations you can see peculiar “honor boards” on which the best metro workers are posted;
- each metro station has a clean and free toilet;
- To get to the city from the interchange (junction) station, you must first go to another metro line;
- on escalators, any commercial advertising is completely absent;
- In general, the subway in the Chinese city of Guangzhou is convenient, comfortable and very clean.
Conclusion
Guangzhou Metro is one of the components of the transportation system of this Chinese city. The local metro system began operations in 1997. Today, 9 lines are laid here, one of which is the longest in the world.