Metro Tickets and QR Ride Codes: Shared Basics Across Chinese Cities
Every large Chinese city runs its own metro network with its own app, fare chart and gate system. The details differ, but the practical choice is the same: either activate a QR ride code on your phone or buy a single-journey ticket at the station. Both work; the ride code is faster once it is set up.
Shared basics across Chinese cities
In Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an and most large urban networks, fares are usually calculated by distance, station access normally includes security screening, and gates accept a single-journey ticket or a phone code. Those are useful expectations, not universal rules: fare bands, screening arrangements, the layout of entrances and the codes each operator accepts can differ.
Trains are usually identified by line number and terminus direction rather than by northbound or southbound. Check the operator's current first and last train times before planning a late return; last trains can end earlier than the metro's opening hours suggest.
Activate a QR ride code
- Open the ride-code service inside Alipay or WeChat (named 乘车码, ride code) or download the city's own metro app.
- Link the payment method the service asks for. With an international card bound to Alipay or WeChat Pay, the ride code can deduct fares from that card.
- Follow the current activation prompts, which differ by city and account type; some services ask for extra identity details.
- Open the code before you reach the gate and hold it at the scanner. Keep the code screen ready for the exit gates where fares are settled on leaving.
Buy a single-journey ticket instead
- Use the ticket machine in the station concourse: select the line and destination station (or fare) and confirm the price.
- Pay with coins or small notes, which machines accept most reliably. Some machines also accept QR payment through local apps.
- Take the ticket or token and keep it until you leave through the exit gates.
- If the machine rejects your cash or card, use the service window with staff on duty in the same concourse; it sells tickets for the same fare.
If something fails
- The ride code will not load: fall back to a single-journey ticket or the service window instead of holding up the gate.
- Machine rejects a note: change to smaller notes or coins, or buy at the service window with staff on duty.
- Wrong platform or direction: do not pass the gates; follow the overhead signs to the opposite platform or ask station staff.
- Ticket lost or gate rejects it at the exit: pay the due fare at the exit-side service window rather than forcing the gate.
Sources and rechecking
These sources were checked for the current guide edition. Confirm the linked page again before acting on a changing route, price, opening rule or booking procedure. Read how ChinaTrip checks its guides.
- Metro fares and route informationOfficial/operator source · Shanghai Metro · checked 19 Oct 2026
- Basic information of Beijing SubwayOfficial/operator source · Visit Beijing (via Beijing Municipal Government) · checked 29 Oct 2026
- Xi'an Metro: English station lists and ticket types (third-party guide)Research reference · TravelChinaGuide · checked 9 Nov 2026
- Xi'an Metro: Alipay ride-code setup (third-party guide)Research reference · TripChina.me · checked 6 Nov 2026
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These checks are a nationwide starting point.
The underlying checks are widely shared, but local app screens, station rules and venue procedures can differ. The Standard guides apply them to fixed three-day routes in Shanghai, Beijing and Xi'an, with alternatives, useful language and source notes.