We’re pleased to announce Explore Shanghai 1.5 for iPhone – the best Shanghai Metro app for iPhone just got better!

• 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
• UPDATED! Updated first/last train times for Metro Line 7 and Metro Line 9
• UPDATED! Metro Line 2 east extension

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

Screenshot: find my nearest

Screenshot: Line numbers

Expect updates to our other apps for Guangzhou, Beijing and Hong Kong shortly!

As we previously reported, Line 7 and Line 9 have extended opening hours starting today! So, if you’re lucky enough not to be working this weekend, here are a few places you could explore using the new metro lines:

1. Visit the canal town of Qibao (Line 9)
2. Go shopping along Line 7 – see this Cityweekend article for more details!
3. Buy some souvenirs or eat al fresco at Tianzifang at Taikang Lu, close to Dapuqiao (Line 9)
4. Wander the streets of the Old Town near Xiaonanmen (Line 9)
5. Grab some sportswear at Decathlon at Longyang Road (Line 2 and 7)

We’ve just pushed out an update to ExploreShanghai online with the new times for first/last trains. Just click on any station for details. An update to our iPhone app will follow in the next week.

The best way to understand our ExploreShanghai Shanghai Metro iPhone app is to see it in action! That’s why we created a video so you can see great features like routeplanning, easy zooming and panning, audio and search.

Check out the video on Youtube (best for outside of China)

… or on Youku (best inside China)

Today we updated the printable PDF versions of our Shanghai metro map. The new English version includes the new line 8 stations and there’s a new Chinese version. If you have any comments or suggestions for the PDF versions, please get in touch.

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UPDATE: See this updated article for new version in English and Chinese

Our ExploreShanghai metro map is great for finding stations and plotting routes, but what if you’re away from the computer? We now provide a handy PDF version of the Shanghai metro map in A4 size, which you can print out and take with you on your trip.
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It was pitch dark and freezing cold as I sat outside Songjiang Xincheng metro station at 5.45am on Monday morning, eating dumplings for breakfast. I had set myself the challenge of visiting every Shanghai Metro Station in one day, and was thinking this was not the most glamorous of beginnings. After a few minutes the staff rolled up the shutters and let me and a few other bleary-eyed commuters into the station.

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Today (Monday) I will be attempting the Shanghai Metro Challenge, trying to visit every station on the network in just one day.

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!

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Several people have noticed the fun loading messages which appear while our metro maps for Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou are loading.

To celebrate the festive season, we’ve written some new loading messages with the theme “Christmas with Chinese characteristics”. Check it out on one of our maps: SH BJ GZ.

CNReviews have kindly written a very positive review of our sites in their latest post.

Every so often you run into something so completely wonderful, it forces you to ask yourself, “how the hell did I never hear of this before?”

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ExploreMetro should be a nice reference for China’s many expats and foreign visitors who opt not to waste time or money hopping into taxis to get wherever they want to go when the subway is equally accessible and often times much faster.

Thanks guys, we love you too. Read the full review here.