Category Archives: shanghai

Coming soon: step-by-step routeplanning and sharing in our iPhone apps

We’ve been busy this summer preparing a new version of our awesome metro maps for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Version 7 will be available soon – but here’s a sneak preview, as well as information on how to get the new version first by joining our beta-testing program.

Route-planning is a really useful part of our apps: in fact over 15,000 routes are planned every day using our iPhone apps! In the current version, the fastest route is shown directly on the map like this:

In version 7, we’re adding written step-by-step directions, like this:

Every step of the way, you have clear instructions of which line to take, and which direction. What’s more, you can easily share the route instructions, by email, SMS/iMessage, Twitter or copying to clipboard:

We even automatically shorten the route directions to fit more easily into an SMS message.

If you’d like to try out the new routeplanning features, sign up to our beta-testing program.

And there’s more! Once iOS6 is launched later this year we’ll be adding more great features, including:

Point-to-point directions integrated into the built-in Maps app
Sharing via Sina Weibo

Our beta metro maps are now the default on modern browsers

We’ve switched over to make the new beta metro maps the default version when you visit one of our sites in a modern browser. If you’re using Internet Explorer 6, 7 or 8 you’ll be automatically redirected to the old Flash version. And don’t worry, our Flash maps are not going away – you can switch back to the old version at any time by choosing “don’t use beta”.

Thanks for everyone who submitted feedback for the beta versions, we plan to actively develop the new versions of the maps to make them even better! If you have any suggestions, get in touch via our support site.

A new page for every metro station – introducing a new look for Metropedia

For each of our online metro maps, we provide an accompanying “Metropedia” with a webpage for every metro station and metro line (for example People’s Square in Shanghai, Kowloon in Hong Kong). We’ve just designed all the Metropedia pages to match the style of our new beta metro maps. Highlights of the new pages include:

New stylish header with a snapshot photo of the location
Fast facts including the name of the station in multiple languages and audio pronounciation
Location map from Google Maps
Tips contributed by the users of our iPhone apps
Photos from the area around each station
Nearby places from Wikipedia and Skimbl
Works well on phones and tablets as well as desktop browsers

Check out the Metropedia homepages for for Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei, and do let us know if you have any suggestions on how to improve the Metropedia pages!

Sample page:

Sample page on iPhone:

Faster loading, faster route-planning on our beta metro maps

We’ve just launched some more incremental improvements to our beta metro maps for Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei

By popular demand, you can now drag between two stations to plan a route (this is how route-planning works in the classic version). You can also use the new method of clicking on the first station, choosing “Plan route” and clicking on the second station.
It’s also now quicker to plan a new route after planning your first route – no need to dismiss the route-planning bar
Finally, we’ve improved the caching of the map tiles, so the map should load much faster on repeat visits

We’ll continue to work on fixing bugs and making improvements in the beta version until they surpass the classic versions 🙂 If you spot any errors, or have any feedback on how to improve the beta versions, do let me know in the comments, or via our support page.

Updates for our beta metro maps

Since we launched the “beta” versions of our online metro maps a few weeks ago, we’ve received lots of great feedback from our loyal users. Some people love them, some people have found problems or issues and want to go back to the old versions.

Just to let you know, we are reading and responding to all the feedback, and continuing to make improvements to the beta version. Today we made several improvements to our beta maps for Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei, including:

The default zoom level shows a larger area
You can now zoom in/out smoothly, rather than only in steps of 2x
When hovering over a station, you’ll see a “hand” cursor, making it clearer when you can click
Fixed a bug where flags would disappear during route planning
Faster loading of map tiles in China

To opt-in to the beta version, click the orange banner.

To opt-out and return to the classic version, click the ExploreMetro logo and choose “Don’t use beta”.

Travelling from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to downtown Shanghai by metro

To help travelers to Asia’s biggest cities, we are running a series of articles on how to travel from major airports to downtown. Today, we’re focusing on Shanghai.

Shanghai has two main airports: Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA). This article covers Pudong Airport, see also our guide to Hongqiao Airport. Pudong Aiport is situated about 30 km east of downtown.

There are two main ways to get to downtown Shanghai by rail. Shanghai Metro Line 2 runs all the way to the airport. Trains run every 8 minutes from the Airport Station between 6:00 and 22:00, and travelling to People’s Square takes about 68 minutes and costs 7 RMB. At Guanglan Road station, you’ll need to transfer trains, but this is a quick cross-platform interchange. There are numerous interchange stations to other lines, including to Lines 4, 6 and 9 at Century Avenue and Line 1 and Line 8 at People’s Square.

photo credit: vizcochino

A quicker, but more expensive option is to take the Shanghai Maglev Train, the fastest scheduled train journey in the world, with trains running to a maximum speed of 430km/h. Trains depart the Maglev station at the airport every 15 minutes, and take just 7-8 minutes to arrive at Longyang Road station, where you can interchange on to Metro Line 2 or Line 7. A one-way ticket costs 50 RMB, and trains run between 7:02 and 21:42. Note that Longyang Road is not in central Shanghai, it’s still approximately 20 minutes to People’s Square via Metro Line 2.

photo credit: skylarprimm

If you’re planning a trip to Shanghai, we’ve got the resources you need for using the metro: visit our interactive metro map, print out a PDF map or download our iPhone/iPad app or Android app.

Travelling from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to downtown Shanghai by metro

To help travelers to Asia’s biggest cities, we are running a series of articles on how to travel from major airports to downtown. Today, we’re focusing on Shanghai.

Shanghai has two main airports: Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA). This article covers Hongqiao Airport, see also our guide to Pudong Airport. Hongqiao Aiport is situated about 13 km west of downtown.

Hongqiao Airport has two terminals, both with a metro station. Terminal 1 station is on Line 10, while Terminal 2 station is on Line 2 and Line 10. On Line 2, trains run every 6-12 minutes and take about 35 minutes to central Shanghai (People’s Square station) between 5:35 and 22:50, a ticket is 5 RMB to People’s Square. On Line 10, trains run every 10-15 minutes between 5:55 and 22:00. There are numerous interchange stations to other lines on both line 2 and line 10.

If you’re planning a trip to Shanghai, we’ve got the resources you need for using the metro: visit our interactive metro map, print out a PDF map or download our iPhone/iPad app or Android app.

photo by: Lucy (嘉莉)

Try the beta version of our all-new metro maps

We’re pleased to announce that the beta version of our new metro maps is now available! Visit our sites for Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Singapore or Hong Kong – look for this orange banner at the top of the page to opt into the beta:

If you don’t yet see the message, please accept our apologies, we will make it available to you soon!

You can also visit our sites from an iPhone, iPad or Android device to try out the beta version.

Some of the great new features of our all-new metro maps include:

Doesn’t require Flash
Layout adapts to your browser size
Simplified routeplanning. Just tap on the first station, choose “Plan route”, then tap on the second station
Quickly jump to another city using the top menu
Zoom in and out using the mouse scrollwheel or zoom buttons
Pop open the first/last train times panel. Just tap any station, then choose “First & last”
Load the Metropedia article for any station by tapping on the station name

If you’d like to return to the classic version, tap the ExploreMetro logo and choose “Don’t use beta”.

As this is a beta version, there may still be a few glitches. If you spot anything wrong, or have suggestions for improvements, contact us!

Card Checker: check the balance of your Shanghai Public Transportation Card on your iPhone

Now you can check the balance of your Shanghai Public Transportation Card on your iPhone, with our new app Card Checker for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Card Checker is simple to use, simply enter the serial number of your card which is imprinted on the back. The app will connect to the internet and retrieve your most recent balance.

You only need to enter your card number once – after that, simply launch the app and it will immediately fetch your balance.

One caveat: we use official data from the Shanghai Public Transportation Card site, and there can sometimes be a 24-48 hour delay before changes in your balance are reflected in the app.

Card Checker is a perfect complement to our Explore Shanghai metro map app.

Card Checker is free forever – download it now from the App Store.

Coming soon: all-new online metro maps

Since 2007 we’ve been providing interactive Flash metro maps at exploreshanghai.com and for four other cities. While recently we’ve been focused on apps for iPhone and Android, our popular online maps at are starting to look a little dated. It’s time for a fresh start, so I’ve been redesigning the online maps from the ground up. The goals of the redesign are:

No more Flash: as an increasing number of devices don’t come with Flash Player installed
Make the design responsive – that is to say, it should display well on any screen size, from a mobile phone right up to a large desktop monitor
Allow users of mobile devices who haven’t got our native apps to access basic mapping functionality on all devices for free
Add online maps for Seoul and Taipei
Add some features from our native apps, like more intuitive routeplanning, and zoom in/out

We’re still testing the new maps, but here’s a sneak preview of things to come (click to enlarge):

Soon, you’ll be able to opt-in to use the new version when you visit one of our sites. Stay tuned for updates!

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