I’m excited to see how he does, as I attempted the same feat in Shanghai in 2009.

So why’s he doing it?

“I’m hoping that in taking up and hopefully beating the challenge, I’ll bring attention to the fact that for less than the price of a jianbing, it’s possible to navigate the whole of Beijing and beyond (336km of track) in a day, with a good few hours to spare if my calculations are correct. In a taxi, the same journey would be super-slow, cost at least 1042 kuai (or 297.7 jianbings), and leave Beijing covered in nasty pollution.

You can follow Alex on Twitter to see how well he does. Good luck!

My route took me along line 9 to Yishan Road, up and down line 3, all the way around the circular line 4, then onto line 2 into Pudong. It was now mid-rush hour and the trains and stations were packed.

As each train reaches the terminus, a small snatch of Kenny G is played over the loudspeaker. After Kenny played his sax at Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, I headed back to Century Avenue, then onto line 6 north into the depths of Pudong – all while I would usually be asleep Throughout the day I was updating Twitter from my phone, and getting messages of support from the many people following from their desks!

Heading south down line 6, I managed to meet up with agent 00J, who kindly brought me a sandwich. At the south end of line 6, we took a shortcut via bus to Line 8. I then headed on alone to the north end of line 8, where I managed to dash into the toilet for a much-needed comfort break (Note for would-be imitators: a strong bladder is a must)

I was making good time, and was already an hour and a half ahead of my plan! At Hongkou Football Stadium station, I transferred back onto line 3. Hongkou Stadium is a ‘virtual interchange’ which involves crossing a main road and running up several flights of stairs! Up to the north ends of line 3, then time for another bus transfer. I managed to mess this one up, ending up running over a kilometre trying to find the bus stop. Still, before long I was at Fujin Road on line 1.

Then there was just one long journey southwards the length of Line 1, through the start of the evening rush hour. At Xinzhuang. I transferred onto Line 5 towards Minhang in south-west Shanghai.

We pulled into Minhang Development Zone Station, the final station, at 4:14pm. I had finally made it in 10 hours, 14 minutes and 42 seconds, surpassing my expectations, and hopefully providing a tough target for Wang Jian Shuo to beat

After completing the challenge I had to get home, so I took the metro. Somehow I had made it through the day without caffeine, and believe me when I say crappy McDonald’s coffee has never tasted so good…

Here’s my route… if you think you can beat my time, then start researching on the interactive metro map! If you want to take the challenge, just contact us and I can answer any questions!

Falling asleep on the way home…

You can follow my progress during the day via exploremetro on Twitter or text me on +86 13482644407.

Full report and photos to follow on Tuesday. Jiayou!

On Monday 19th January I will attempt to visit every Shanghai Metro station in one day!

In the last five years the Shanghai Metro system it’s grown from three lines to eight, with 147 stations. It’s now the largest network in China and the sixth largest in the world. In London, people have been doing the Tube Challenge for decades, but as far as I know, this is the first attempt with the current network in Shanghai (feel free to prove me wrong in the comments). By 2020, I fear it will be impossible to visit every station in a day!

I’ll be sending updates via Twitter during the challenge, and supporters are welcome to cheer me on. Find out:

• can I make it to Minhang Development Zone before the system shuts down for the night?
• what are the best and the worst stations for interchanging?
• will I remember to get off line 4, or will I keep on going round and round?
• which little old ladies will I need to elbow out of the way to get to the front of the queue?

It all starts at 6am, 19th January at Songjiang Xincheng.

Here are the rules I will follow, based on the rules on the London tube forum site

1. All stations served by Shanghai Metro underground and light rail services (line 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9) must be visited in a single day.
2. To visit a station, you must arrive and/or depart by an metro train in normal public service.
3. It is necessary for a through train to stop at the station for the visit to count, although you do not need to get out.
4. If a stations has two separated parts which share the same name, they must each be visited. This applies to Pudian Road (line 4, line 6), Hongkou Football Stadium (line 3, line 8), Shanghai Railway Station (line 1, line 3/4) and Yishan Road (line 3/9, line 4).
5. Feet or public buses may be used to transfer from one metro line to another. The use of private motor vehicles, taxis or any other form of privately arranged transport (bicycles, skateboards, Haibao-pulled chariot etc) is not acceptable.
6. It is not necessary to cover every stretch of track on the network
7. A log book should be kept throughout the whole journey.
8. The clock must start the moment the doors close on the first train taken by the challenger(s). It must stop the moment the challenger(s) set foot on the platform at the last station.

147 stations, eight lines, one manic Monday. Wish me luck!