We've all been there: you're late to a meeting, forgot your Guangzhou Metro card and don't have any RMB1 coins or RMB5/10 bills available. You're forced to buy a water at the nearest 7-11 to break a RMB100 note, all the while contemplating how a modern city like Guangzhou could be so backward when it comes to paying for a simple ride on the subway. Well Guangzhouers, that's all (finally!) about to change.
This June, the Guangzhou Metro Company introduced some new and exciting services that will allow passengers to swipe their credit card or phone (provided it has the Guangzhou Metro mobile app) to enter the platform.
More than 6,000 turnstiles on Lines 1-8 as well as the Guangfo Line (not the APM Line at this time) will accept cash-less payments.
To give you a better idea of how to take advantage of these new services, we've summarized all of the ways to ride the Guangzhou Metro without cash below.
1. UnionPay Credit Card
If you own a UnionPay IC (chip-embedded) credit card with a ‘Quick Pass’ function (pictured below), you can now use it as your metro pass. In order to do so, you will need to call your bank (hotline on the back of your card) to change your card's settings such that it will require no password for small expenditures. (Note: foreigners must be at least 25 years old to apply for a credit card in China, according to a representative we spoke to at China Merchants Bank).
Once you've successfully changed the settings, you can swipe it at any turnstile (old or new) to enter.
2. MetroPay (currently not supporting iOS)
MetroPay (云卡) is a new function in the Guangzhou Metro mobile app available to Android phones with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. To use the payment function, you'll need to first bind your UnionPay bank account to MetroPay. Then, all you need to do is swipe your phone as a metro pass when you cross through the turnstile (again, old or new machines both work). See our step-by-step guide below:
1. Download the "广州地铁" app
2. Register for an account with your phone number.
Click "个人中心."
Click "注册."
Enter information.
Login.
3. Enable NFC in your phone.
4. Bind bank account to MetroPay
Click MetroPay.
Add a MetroPay card.
Choose payment method (only supports UnionPay debit card).
Enter bank account information.
Enter the verification code sent to your phone.
5. You're all set! Just scan your phone at the gate.
3. WeChat
A third option is to buy a ticket via the Guangzhou Metro WeChat (ID: gzmtr_daily). Once you purchase a ticket on WeChat, a QR code will be generated, which you can then scan at any of the new orange and white machines (located in some stations but not all) to claim a temporary green ticket.
UPDATE (June 26, 2017): You can now claim a temporary green ticket purchased via WeChat or Alipay using any machine in the station (not just the orange and white ones), with a valid QR code.
For detailed instructions, see below:
1. Follow the official Guangzhou Metro WeChat account
The ID is: gzmtr_daily. It's all in Chinese, but see below for step-by-step instructions.
2. Purchase a ticket on WeChat
Select '购买' or 'purchase.' Then select '单程票' or 'single journey ticket.'
Click the green circle that reads 'single journey ticket.' If you're riding the APM Line, select the circle on the right.
Select your departure station (起始站) and your arrival station (终点站). The metro lines are color-coded and numbered on the left. Click one to see your options for stations. If a station is not listed, that means it does not yet support tickets purchased via WeChat (i.e. it doesn't have one of those nifty orange machines). If that is the case, you can consider the two options above or start searching your pockets for RMB5 and RMB10 bills.
Selected your departure and arrival stations? Great. Now click '购买' (buy) and then '支付' (pay) and enter your WeChat payment password.
You'll see the page below if your payment is successful. Click 'back to vendor' to generate the QR code that you will need to scan to obtain a physical ticket. (Note: in the near future, you will be able to scan this QR code directly at the new turnstiles in any Guangzhou Metro station. For now, though, see below).
3. Claim your physical ticket
Once you have this QR code, locate the orange and white ticket machines inside the metro station. They look like this:
Select '取票' or 'get ticket.'
Hold your phone up to the small screen on the right of the machine and scan your QR code. A green plastic coin (your ticket) should fall into the dispenser. You're all set to ride!
As mentioned earlier, in the near future, you will be able to scan the QR code directly at these new orange turnstiles:
If you accidentally close WeChat on your phone and can't find the QR code, just reopen the Guangzhou Metro WeChat account and click the latest notification message you received to retrieve the code.
Bought a ticket but changed your plans? Guangzhou Metro will automatically refund any ticket you purchased on WeChat but never used at midnight on the day of purchase.
[Cover image via Guangzhou Daily]
