Opening Year Rankings
Explore 57 cities by metro size and first opening date.
Data updated
Route Length
12,846km
Total for listed cities
Station Count
7,941stations
Total for listed cities
Line Count
371lines
Total for listed cities
Opening Year
1971–2026
First openings across 57 cities
Route Length
Compare scale with bars; read the exact values beside them.
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Your cities, side by side
Choose three cities to compare route length, stations and lines.
First opened May 1993
First opened Jan 1971
First opened Jun 1997
Route Length / km
Scale: 0–1,000 km
Shanghai901
Beijing888
Guangzhou746
Station Count / stations
Scale: 0–600 stations
Shanghai520
Beijing515
Guangzhou379
Line Count / lines
Scale: 0–32 lines
Shanghai21
Beijing26
Guangzhou20
When each city first opened
Each city is counted once. Select a decade to see cities and opening dates.
All years · 57 cities
1971
1976
1979
1993
1996
1997
2002
2003
2005
2008
2011
2017
2018
2020
2024
2026
No listed cities first opened in this decade.
View the full data table 57 cities · charts and table use the same data
57 cities
| # | City | Opening | Length (km) | Stations | Lines | Maps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beijing | 888 | 515 | 26 |  |
|
| 2 | Tianjin | 393 | 274 | 13 |  |
|
| 3 | Hong Kong | 241 | 121 | 10 |  |
|
| 4 | Shanghai | 901 | 520 | 21 |  |
|
| 5 | Taipei | 184 | 157 | 10 |  |
|
| 6 | Guangzhou | 746 | 379 | 20 |  |
|
| 7 | Changchun | 194 | 167 | 8 |  |
|
| 8 | Dalian | 237 | 106 | 6 |  |
|
| 9 | Wuhan | 554 | 335 | 13 |  |
|
| 10 | Chongqing | 579 | 327 | 14 |  |
|
| 11 | Shenzhen | 642 | 432 | 17 |  |
|
| 12 | Nanjing | 567 | 289 | 15 |  |
|
| 13 | Kaohsiung | 43 | 38 | 2 |  |
|
| 14 | Chengdu | 696 | 442 | 17 |  |
|
| 14 | Shenyang | 217 | 159 | 6 |  |
|
| 16 | Foshan | 146 | 90 | 5 |  |
|
| 17 | Xi'an | 424 | 285 | 12 |  |
|
| 18 | Suzhou | 352 | 277 | 10 |  |
|
| 19 | Kunming | 165 | 114 | 6 |  |
|
| 20 | Hangzhou | 520 | 310 | 14 |  |
|
| 21 | Harbin | 93 | 78 | 3 |  |
|
| 22 | Zhengzhou | 415 | 271 | 13 |  |
|
| 23 | Changsha | 250 | 170 | 7 |  |
|
| 24 | Ningbo | 357 | 210 | 9 |  |
|
| 25 | Wuxi | 144 | 97 | 5 |  |
|
| 26 | Qingdao | 365 | 195 | 8 |  |
|
| 26 | Nanchang | 160 | 122 | 4 |  |
|
| 28 | Fuzhou | 211 | 116 | 6 |  |
|
| 28 | Dongguan | 95 | 40 | 2 |  |
|
| 30 | Nanning | 132 | 106 | 5 |  |
|
| 31 | Hefei | 276 | 215 | 8 |  |
|
| 32 | Taoyuan | 37 | 16 | 1 |  |
|
| 33 | Shijiazhuang | 77 | 63 | 3 |  |
|
| 34 | Xiamen | 155 | 99 | 5 |  |
|
| 34 | Guiyang | 149 | 99 | 4 |  |
|
| 36 | Urumqi | 34 | 24 | 2 |  |
|
| 37 | Wenzhou | 117 | 38 | 2 |  |
|
| 38 | Jinan | 219 | 123 | 7 |  |
|
| 39 | Lanzhou | 35 | 29 | 2 |  |
|
| 40 | Xuzhou | 95 | 76 | 4 |  |
|
| 40 | Changzhou | 54 | 44 | 2 |  |
|
| 42 | Hohhot | 49 | 44 | 2 |  |
|
| 42 | Macau | 17 | 17 | 3 |  |
|
| 44 | Taiyuan | 52 | 47 | 2 |  |
|
| 45 | Luoyang | 44 | 34 | 2 |  |
|
| 46 | Taichung | 17 | 18 | 1 |  |
|
| 47 | Shaoxing | 60 | 38 | 2 |  |
|
| 47 | Haining | 44 | 11 | 1 |  |
|
| 49 | Wuhu | 46 | 36 | 2 |  |
|
| 50 | Jurong | 17 | 5 | 1 |  |
|
| 51 | Jinhua | 103 | 30 | 1 |  |
|
| 52 | Nantong | 60 | 44 | 2 |  |
|
| 53 | Taizhou | 52 | 15 | 1 |  |
|
| 54 | Chuzhou | 45 | 10 | 1 |  |
|
| 55 | Xuchang | 34 | 11 | 1 |  |
|
| 56 | Ziyang | 19 | 5 | 1 |  |
|
| 57 | Ma'anshan | 28 | 8 | 1 |  |
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Data notes
Main metro lines only; tramways, suburban rail, and the Hong Kong Light Rail are excluded.
Taipei includes New Taipei, excludes Taoyuan; Guangzhou excludes Foshan.
Transfer stations counted multiple times.
Cities are ranked by this metric. Equal values share a rank, followed by a gap: 1, 2, 2, 4.
Data source: metroman.cn