By popular request, we’ll soon be including integrated Google Maps in our iPhone metro map apps for Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Singapore. Just tap on any station and choose “Street map” to see the area around the selected station. You can pan and zoom the map to see more.

If you’ve got any suggestions on this or other features, do get in touch!

Stay tuned for updates to all our apps to support Google maps over the next few weeks.

To download the maps, just click on the “PDF map” tab on any of our city sites, or follow the download links below. The PDF maps are available in both English and Chinese versions. If you have any feedback or spot any mistakes on the map, do get in touch!

Direct links:

• Shanghai – English, Chinese
• Beijing – English, Chinese
• Guangzhou – English, Chinese
• Hong Kong – English, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional
• Singapore – English, Chinese

One of the great new features in version 1.5 is “Find my nearest”. When you’re exploring the capital, and want to find the nearest subway station, just tap the “Nearest” tab. Using your iPhone’s GPS (or wifi signals on the iPod touch) we’ll provide a list of nearest stations, as well as approximate distances and directions:


Another handy addition is line numbers, so you can quickly see which color line is which

And of course, there’s our intuitive and up-to-date route-planning and first/last train times.

Here’s a summary of the latest changes:

• NEW! “Find my nearest” - using your iPhone’s GPS you can now see a list of the closest metro stations to your current location.
• FIXED! Solved bug causing map to freeze when zooming/panning
• NEW! Line numbers. Handy labels to show you the name of each line at a glance.
• NEW! Tab bar to switch between features

Explore Beijing 1.5 is a FREE update for existing users. Not downloaded yet? It’s available on the iTunes App Store.

特性:

• 地铁沿线的各个站点。绝对最新延伸线路，如北京地铁四号线。未来线路免费更新。
• 计划线路：轻轻点击一个站点，放置一面小旗。然后点击第二个站点，再放置一面小旗，便可得到时刻及价格细目。
• 脱机工作：无需连接网络，一切皆有可能。搜索站点，计划行进路线。
• 双语：所有内容均有英文和中文两种语言可供选择。

你只需为我们做的是：如果你喜欢这些应用程序，请你在iTunes应用程序商店为我们留下一个五星评级。

Here’s what you’re getting:

• Fully up-to-date – Every station on every line. Fully up to date with the latest extensions.
• Plan routes – Tap on a station to place a flag. Then tap a second station to place a second flag, and get instant time and price details.
• Works offline – Everything works without an Internet connection. Search stations and plan routes on the go.
• Bilingual - Everything’s available in English and Chinese. Show a station name to a taxi driver or listen to a station pronouciation in Chinese.

All we ask is that if you like the apps, you leave us a 5 star review in the iTunes App Store

Explore Beijing is available on the iTunes App Store today priced at just $0.99. Want to try it out for free? Follow us on Twitter or become our fan on Facebook where we’ll be handing out some free promo codes!

Station info

Search – in English and Chinese

Routeplanning

• Every station on every line.
• Routeplanning – times and prices for any journey
• Works offline – Everything works without an Internet connection. Perfect for iPod touch users!
• Bilingual -Everything’s available in English and Chinese.

Screenshots

Download Explore Shanghai now!

ExploreBeijing app coming soon

The first version of our Explore Beijing app is currently in review by Apple! It will include all the great features of the Shanghai app. If you’d like to be contacted when the app launches, leave us a message on our contact page.

Stay tuned for further announcements, but until then here’s a screenshot to whet your appetite (click to enlarge)!

If you’d like to be notified when we launch our apps for Beijing, Guangzhou or Hong Kong, leave a message on our contact page.

• English and Chinese station names
• Route-planning (drag between two stations)
• Pronunciations in Mandarin (coming soon)
• Subwaypedia, with station maps and local photos

Line 4 will run from Anheqiao North to Gongyixiqiao, passing through western and central Beijing. Key interchanges are Haidian Huangzhuang (to Line 10), Xizhimen (to Line 2 and 13), Xidan (to Line 1) and Xuanwumen (to Line 2). The line also connects with the Beijing South Railway Station. It’s colored “teal” on the map.

David Feng has been doing a countdown of the key stations on the line on the Beijingologist blog.

Here’s a aerial shot of the new line looking from the south.