Beijing Subway System Map

The Beijing subway system continues to expand and provide state of the art, affordable rapid transit to the city’s people.T he Beijing subway began as a primitive project in 1969 by digging trenches to place track and stations rather than using modern tunneling techniques. The central ring line and Western suburb  line was designed primarily as a means to quickly evacuate party officials from city center to the Western Hills in the event of nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

War never came and ridership increased steadily. The initial two lines and 39 stations remained unchanged until the new millennium when a massive expansion project to improve transportation infrastructure prior to the 2008 Olympics was implemented.

As of 2010, the system has 10 lines and 147 stations with 228 km (141 miles) of track. In April, 2010 daily ridership surpassed 6.4 million (the New York subway averages 5 million weekday riders). The  subsidized  ticket price of 2 yuan  (30 cents) per ride greatly helps reduce the surface traffic congestion

The system continues to expand, fueled by a $4 trillion yuan ($590 billion US) government stimulus package. The subway system is scheduled to be completed in 2015 with 19 lines and 561 km (348 miles) of track.

Almost all Access china tours include a visit to Beijing where the magnificent subway can be experienced.