Beijing Subway’s rapid expansion ahead of the Olympics mirrors that of the whole of China

By Tom Carter Translation by Sally Chang

Like seemingly everything else in China prefaced with ‘The World’s…Biggest, Longest, Most Populace, etc.,’ the Beijing Subway is presently the world’s fastest growing rapid transit network.

Following the breakneck pace of China’s economy, a total of 19 lines and approximately 600km of track of the Beijing Subway are expected to be in service before 2015. China’s historic capital will unveil three of these new lines to its underground transportation network this summer just in time for the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Christened by the iconic Chairman himself, Mao Zedong, Beijing’s subway system officially began operations in 1969 – an infant compared to the London Underground, the world’s oldest railway which opened over a century earlier in 1863. The subway, however, was reserved exclusively for Mao’s entourage and select Communist Party personnel until the early 1980s, when it made the transition from ‘state secret’ to civilian transit and finally opened for public use by the people of the eponymous Republic.

At the time, the Beijing Ditie (subway) was the first underground network in the entire PRC and consisted of a single line extending 31km east to west from Beijing’s train station to the remote Pingguoyuan terminus. A decade later, a second 31km loop line was added, running in part directly underneath Beijing’s 2nd Ring Road.

Resembling a target, the layout of the Beijing Subway kept its attractively minimalist design until 2002, when the sloppy-looking Line 13 was tacked on to encompass 40km around the northern suburbs.

Today, there is perhaps no more prominent symbol of China’s accelerated development than the Beijing Subway. The rapidly expanding rapid transit presently consists of eight bustling lines, three of which will open just in time for the 29th Summer Olympics – a much-needed dose of subterranean commute for a city whose topography is in a constant state of gridlock. With a municipal population of over 17 million, transit authorities expect to see daily passenger loads on the subway peak at five million during the Olympics.

To their credit, Beijing has invested a significant portion of its burgeoning economy (US$6bn) into upgrading the subway. What just a year ago resembled rusty tin cans complete with malfunctioning aircon units have overnight been replaced by streamlined, state-of-the-art subway cars that rival any public transportation offered in the West. And at a flat fare of an unbelievably low 2RMB, there’s really no excuse to ever take a taxi again. in addition to quieter cars, there’s functioning air-conditioning, brighter bulbs and digital displays, foreigner-friendly maps and information available in English (thankfully, proofread for comedy ‘Chinglish’). To the further delight of China’s expat community, the reassuring presence of an accented, bilingual PA announcer asking commuters to uphold Western-style rules of etiquette such as queuing in line and not pushing, mean the days of commuter combat are well and tuly over!

For the independent tourist wishing to explore the ancient Chinese capital via metro, the Beijing Subway stops at just about all of the urban city’s famous destinations. Line 1 (red) is the most popular with visitors, running directly beneath the historic Changan Avenue, China’s ‘First Street’, with stops at Wang Fujing shopping quarter, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, each located in the heavenly heart of Beijing.

Line 2 (blue) takes the rider on a subterranean trip around Beijing’s famed hutongs – concentric residential remnants dating back a thousand years; be sure to get off at Guloudajie and wander around these ancient alleys before city planners move in with their wrecking balls as they already have elsewhere.

For the university set, northerly Wudaokou on the arcing orange Line 13 light rail is Beijing’s borough of higher learning, along with enough bars and nightclubs to keep you tipsy all summer. And the immaculate new Line 5, which opened to much fanfare and local publicity last year after five years of construction, conveniently extends north to south, stopping at the famed Temple of Heaven as well as the resplendent Tibetan Buddhist Yonghe Temple.

Whisking new arrivals at 110km/h from Beijing Capital international Airport will be the driverless, computer-controlled L1 Airport Line, expected to open just in time for the Olympics. The ‘Airport Express’ will run at five-minute intervals fifteen hours per day (that’s 4,500 passengers per hour!) and take less than 20 minutes between the airport and the Line 2 interchange at Dongzhimen, costing a very reasonable 20RMB.

Though not yet open to the public at the time of writing, great anticipation surrounds the summer debut of the first phase of the auspiciously numbered Line 8 – the Olympic Spur Line – which is certain to see the most use during the Games and is expected to have a huge positive impact on tourism in Beijing. To accommodate the droves of sports fans making their way to the Olympic Stadium at Olympic Green in north-central Beijing – where over half of the competition venues will be located – the 4km Olympic branch line will run every three minutes. On your marks…get set…go!