Getting around Shanghai: Metro, DiDi and trains

Short answer: tap your contactless Visa or Mastercard at the Metro gate on day one, set up a Metro QR code in Alipay or WeChat in your first week, and switch DiDi to English. After that, Shanghai is one of the easiest big cities on earth to get around.

The short version

The Metro has 21 lines and more than 900 km of track. Downtown fares start at RMB 3 [1].
You can tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB or UnionPay card at the gates, or scan a QR code from the Metro app, Alipay or WeChat [2].
DiDi switches to English in its settings and translates your messages to the driver [4].
Fast trains are booked on the official Railway 12306 app in English with your passport, which is also your ticket at the gate [3].
Flights to Australia leave from Pudong, and China Eastern has announced extra Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane flights plus a new Adelaide route for 2026 [5].

How to pay: Metro, buses and ferries

Compared with Opal or myki, Shanghai is cheaper and has more ways to pay. Downtown Metro fares are RMB 3 for the first 6 km, plus RMB 1 for every extra 10 km. Regular downtown buses are RMB 2 and Huangpu River ferries RMB 2 for pedestrians [1].

Way to pay	Works on	Set-up	Best for
Contactless foreign card (Tap to Ride)	Metro gates	None, but small password-free payments must be enabled [2]	Your first week
Metro QR code in Alipay or WeChat	Metro	Search "Shanghai Metro" in the app or use the Metro Daduhui app [2]	Daily commuting
Shanghai Public Transportation Card	Metro, buses, ferries, taxis [1][2]	Buy at stations; top up	Kids, backup when your phone dies
One-day or three-day pass	Metro, except Maglev and suburban lines opened from 2024 [2]	Buy at station ticket booths	Visitors from Australia
Single-journey ticket	Metro	Vending machines and service centres take foreign cards [1][2]	Occasional trips

Setting up, in order

Day one: tap your contactless Australian card at the gate [2]. Check your bank's international transaction fee, because tiny fares can attract fees.
Week one: link your Australian card to Alipay or WeChat Pay, then open the Shanghai Metro code. Mastercard and Diners Club holders can also add their card under "International Cards" in the Daduhui app's WeChat channel [2]. Our daily life and payments guide covers the card linking.
Month one: once you have a Chinese bank account, link it to your apps to avoid foreign-card fees.
Always: keep a stored-value transport card in your bag as backup.

A one-day pass costs RMB 18 and a three-day pass RMB 45 [2]. They're handy when family visits from Australia, but most residents just pay per trip.

DiDi and taxis

DiDi is China's main ride-hailing app, and it works in English.

Setting up DiDi

Use the app or WeChat. Download DiDi, or open it inside WeChat through Services and then Ride Hailing [4].
Switch to English. In the app, go to 我的 (Me), 设置 (Settings), 通用 (General), then Language [4].
Save your addresses in Chinese. Home, office and school, with building numbers.
Book. Enter your destination, choose a car type and price [4].
Check the car. Match the plate in the app. The driver will usually confirm the last four digits of your phone number [4].
Message, don't call. Chat messages are translated automatically [4]. Calls will be in Mandarin.
Pay. The fare goes to WeChat Pay or Alipay at the end of the trip [4].

Street taxis

Street taxis are metered: RMB 14 for the first 3 km in a standard car, then RMB 2.7 a km. There's a 30% surcharge from 11 pm to 5 am and an extra 50% on the distance fare beyond 15 km [1]. Show the driver your destination in Chinese characters. Seatbelts in the back are hit and miss, so bring a portable booster seat for little kids.

Shared bikes

Shared bikes from Hellobike, Meituan and Qingju are on almost every corner, rented through their apps [1]. In practice most people start a ride by scanning the QR code on the bike with Alipay or WeChat.

Tips for Australians:

Ride on the right. Traffic keeps right, the opposite of home.
Expect e-scooters in the bike lane, often silent and often fast.
Bring your own helmet if you ride a lot. Shared bikes don't come with one.
Park in marked zones. Bikes left outside them can attract a fee in the app.

Shanghai is flat, and riding through the old French Concession on a shared bike is one of the city's great cheap pleasures.

Fast trains around China

China's high-speed network makes weekend trips to Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing and further a breeze. Shanghai's main stations are Hongqiao, Shanghai Railway Station, Shanghai South and Shanghai West [3]. Most fast trains leave from Hongqiao, which is right next to Hongqiao Airport.

Booking with an Australian passport

Download the Railway 12306 app and set the language to English. 12306.cn is China Railway's official site [3].
Register with your passport. Every ticket is tied to an ID, and one ID can only buy one ticket per train per date [3].
Book and pay. Choose the train, add passengers and seats, then pay [3].
Board with your passport. Tickets are electronic. Swipe your passport at the automatic gates or show it at the manual gate [3].
Change if needed. One free change is allowed if you do it more than 48 hours before departure. Later changes cost between 5% and 40% depending on timing [3].

You can also buy at station counters with your passport [3]. Children under six travel free if they don't take a seat; kids aged 6 to 13 pay a child fare [3].

Airports and getting home to Australia

Shanghai has two airports. Pudong is the big international airport, and it's where flights to Australia leave. Hongqiao mainly handles domestic and short regional flights.

Getting there	Route	Time	Fare
Maglev	Pudong Airport to Longyang Road	About 8 minutes [1]	RMB 50 single, RMB 80 return [1]
Airport Link Line	Hongqiao to Pudong	About 40 minutes [2]	From RMB 4; RMB 26 end to end [2]
Metro	Line 2 to Pudong; lines 2 and 10 to Hongqiao	Varies	From RMB 3 [1]
Taxi or DiDi	Door to door	Depends on traffic	Metered or app fare [1]

Flights to Australia

China Eastern Airlines flies from Pudong to Australia. For 2026 it announced more flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and a new route to Adelaide, due to open in mid-2026 [5]. Other carriers also fly or codeshare on Shanghai–Australia routes, and schedules change by season, so check the airline before you plan around a route.

Before you fly home:

Leave plenty of time for immigration at Pudong, especially around Chinese New Year and the October holiday.
Bring the passport you entered on. Your residence permit is in it.
Check what you're carrying. Australian biosecurity is strict on food, so declare food, including dried meats, egg products such as some mooncakes, and herbal medicines.
Register your travel with Smartraveller if you're heading into other parts of China or the region.

Want to know which Metro exit gets you closest to the footy screening? Ask in Cooee China, our Facebook group for Australians in China (join here).

Getting around Shanghai: paying for the Metro, DiDi in English, bikes, fast trains and flights home