For those readers who have never heard of a law prohibiting the use of cellphones on escalators, it’s because there is no such law. The five suspects who were arrested at Exit 20 at Xujiahui Subway Station on Shanghai Metro’s Line 11 were issuing fake fines of ten yuan to anyone talking on the phone while riding the escalator. “Violators” were given cheap-looking pink-colored tickets allegedly issued by the “Shanghai Public Transportation Order Supervision Administration”.

After arresting the five suspects, police discovered another uniform, a stack of pink receipts, and several signboards. The four suspects dressed as security guards explained to police that they were recruited as security guards by the fifth suspect, named Wei, from their hometown. After arriving in Shanghai last Saturday, the four were put to”work” the next morning at Xujiahui Station.

The Shanghai Metro has since clarified that talking on the phone while riding the escalator on the subway is not against the law in China.

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Visitors to the Disneyland test run found security to be especially tight at the Shanghai Metro subway station serving the theme park. Unlike other security checkpoints at subway stations, Disney Resort Station was checking all bags regardless of size, even purses.

The longer queues that resulted due to the stricter security may have been anticipated by the station’s designers. At 40,000 square meters, Disney Resort Station is almost five times as large as other subway stations in Shanghai.

Police at the scene wouldn’t sat why Disneyland visitors returning home are subject to stricter security checks than at other stations in the city. “We’ve been told by the city’s Public Security Bureau to scan all bags,” said one unidentified subway police officer.

The stricter security check was successful in preventing a potential threat from entering the Shanghai Metro: souvenir balloons.

The station security checkpoint prohibited commuters from carrying Disneyland souvenir balloons into the Shanghai Metro because “the balloons, especially the hydrogen-filled ones, could cause explosions and disrupt the operation of the trains”, reported China Daily.

“Some passengers argued when we didn’t let them take their Disney-themed balloons into the station, but we don’t have any choice. The store should warn customers when they buy them,” explained the subway police officer.

An incident in which 98 students were injured at a school ceremony that involved hydrogen-filled balloons prompted the Ministry of Education to ban them back in 2007.

But while Disneyland visitors were sad to have to leave behind their 60 yuan ($9) Disney-themed balloons, other visitors were fuming over exorbitant food prices that charge at least 70 yuan ($10) a meal.

If you can afford to buy dinner worth the price of a balloon, you might also be able to avoid the long lines on public transport since the subway isn’t the only way to get to Shanghai Disney Resort. However, being that the theme park is located a fair distance away from the city center and requires almost an hour’s worth of travel by subway, it’s the only real option for most Shanghai residents.

The post Shanghai Disneyland is in a Trial Stage, and it Isn’t Going Too Well appeared first on The Nanfang.

The video was shot last Saturday in a Line 2 subway car near Nanjing West Station. While the video doesn’t show the actual littering taking place, it does show the aftermath in which the unidentified woman verbally spars with a number of passengers who accuse her of littering.

The argument itself is an exhausting litany of counter-attacks that don’t exactly follow a consistent train of thought. The woman is heard refuting the verbal attacks with lines like “What is it to you?”, “You’re not a cop,” and “Your eyes are in your ass.” She then proceeds to film the man who is filming her.

A chicken bone can be seen on the floor in the video, as can an open bag of pickled chicken feet in the woman’s hand.

Although there has been no shortage of Shanghai subway fight videos uploaded to the internet, the outpouring of civic pride from Shanghai residents who look down upon littering could be the reason the video has become so popular. A People’s Daily Online Weibo post on the short incident has already received 15,000 up-votes and over 16,000 comments.

Here are a select few:

君心moon：
In incidents like these, the thing that irritates me the most is hearing someone say, “Everybody should refrain from talking.” If this is the case, then what needs to be said never gets said.

小谁家内小谁：
What’s fearsome isn’t that she threw garbage on the subway, but that she doesn’t think she committed a wrong in any way.

哼哼桑：
Whenever these things happen online, some people make pains to urgently stress that the transgressor is not a local. Afterwards, this incident evolves into a case of regional discrimination. What a joke.

喵儿星君：
What a bore. There are people like this everywhere. How did this become a case of regional discrimination? What was it: that Shanghai is somehow this or that, and for whatever reason she isn’t Chinese? Attacks upon people based upon regional differences is an embodiment of low morals.

隔壁家二猴子：
Either this is a (viral marketing stunt) for a cellphone commercial, a chicken feet commercial, or this woman wants to become famous.

简单姐姐66：
All that heavy make-up can’t conceal the ugliness of her heart inside.

Last fall, a number of online videos showed Shanghai Metro passengers fighting with each other over things like taking seats.

Municipal regulations ban eating of any kind on the Shanghai Metro.

Here’s the video:

The post Watch: Shanghai People Have Had Enough, Berate Chicken-Feet Eating Litterer on Subway appeared first on The Nanfang.

The Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Company said the total number of stations on the Shanghai Metro will eventually reach 366, with a total network stretching some 617 kilometers long.

Sixteen of the new stations will appear on Line 12, nine of which are interchange stations. Nine new stations will appear on Line 13, while only two new stations will open on Line 11, the so-called “Disney Line” that is expected to provide full service to the amusement park and resort when it opens next year.

Another four new Metro lines will begin construction at the end of 2020 as well as extensions to five currently-existing lines.

The post Shanghai Metro Opened 27 New Stations Over The Weekend appeared first on The Nanfang.

The vandal boarded Line 9 of the Shanghai Metro last Saturday afternoon at Middle Yanggao Road Station in Pudong where he proceeded to make an impromptu drawing in the last subway car on the wall next to the driver’s carriage.

The drawing depicts a sitting figure with its head obscured, while bleeding eyes peer through openings in the wall. The graffiti also included the lyrics to the song Ode to Sleep by the US band Twenty One Pilots and even features the band’s logo at the end:

(You) Have no plans for me
I will set my soul on fire
What have I become
I’m sorry

Police were able to identify the suspect from a surveillance video and spoke with him on Monday. Despite facing possible charges of vandalism and violating Metro regulations, Shanghai police let the teen go with just a warning. The 18 year-old offered an apology, but will be required to compensate the subway for cleaning the graffiti.

Chinese netizens were upset over what they saw as an obvious double standard.

One person wrote, “If this was a mainlander, would they be detained?” while another was more direct and said, “I wouldn’t want to think of the outcome if a mainland Chinese did this on the Hong Kong Metro.”

Other people criticized the media’s treatment of the expat. One person wrote, “Weird. Why is it the media have criticized him for having poor morals? Chinese who do this are criticized for having low morals, but if a foreigner does it, then it’s an exception? What trash the media is.”

Others still offered their support, albeit grudgingly. One person wrote, “There’s talent here; he could grow up to be an artist. But what is this art supposed to be? I can’t bear to look at it.“

The post Chinese Cry Double Standard After Foreign Teenager Freed For Subway Graffiti appeared first on The Nanfang.

The bracelet will be unveiled during a fashion show at the Zhongya Grand Mecure Hotel Shanghai. A lucky 50 of the 150 guests will receive a bracelet for free; the other 100 guests will be able to buy the bracelet at a discounted price. While the price of the bracelet or a photo of what it looks like has yet to be released, you can register to win a ticket for the November 24th unveiling here.

Transport cards are currently available from the Shanghai Metro in a variety of forms that include “mini” and “personalized” as well as being in a watch-form that commuters can wear around their wrist.

The Shanghai Metro has had tremendous problems with many of its commuters not paying fares in recent years. While the Shanghai Metro has looked to publicly shaming fare skippers, one such attempt in October backfired when a woman identified as a fare evader refuted the claim, eventually forcing the Shanghai Metro to rescind the accusation and issue a public apology.

The post Shanghai Metro Introducing “Smart” Fare Bracelets and Fitness Trackers appeared first on The Nanfang.

According to the Deputy Director of the Shanghai Urban Planning and Land Management Administration, Shi Jiaming, the new line “will share stations on some current subway lines to form a new ring route.” For example, Line 5 could be extended to Line 2 to create the southwestern part of the ring.

Although still in the planning stages, Shanghai expects to lay 930 kilometers of new subway track in its downtown core by 2040, and another 930 kilometers in the suburbs.

In just 22 years, Shanghai’s subway network has expanded to 14 subway lines, with 337 stations, and can be seen in this extraordinary GIF.

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An argument over a seat is just the latest dispute on the Shanghai Metro to be caught on video, and follows a trend whereby passengers get into arguments over what appears to be trivial matters.

A video shows a man jockeying for an empty seat with a woman on the city’s Line 4 subway on October 4. The man was ultimately successful, but remained furious at the woman, yelling things like, “I have done absolutely nothing wrong. So what are you going to do about it?”

Here’s the video:This incident follows another dispute caught on video on Shanghai’s Metro. A man got into a heated argument with a woman after he spit on the train. The exchange became so heated that other people on board the train got involved, a rarity for public disputes in China. Much of the argument has less to do with the actual cause (spitting) than it did with personal attacks and the nature of “normality” and “civic morals”.

Here’s the video:And then there was an incident back in August, this time on Line 8. A woman with a bandage on her hand sat down in a seat that was already taken, forcing the occupant into the passenger next to her. This woman has a considerable physical advantage and started to fight back.

The woman with the bandaged hand said because she is injured, she must be given a seat, even without someone offering it to her. However, she is seen using this injured hand to hit the other sitting passengers when the argument escalates. The large woman remains unfazed, and can be heard saying, “Today, I’m going to help out this woman or else all 100-kilograms of me will be for waste!”

Here’s the video:

In all three cases the arguments are not about what started them (seats or spitting), but evolved into matters of face. If a Chinese individual has committed a wrongdoing and is caught red-handed, they may go to extreme lengths to “save face” in order to minimize the public humiliation received in front of their peers, even if it means committing further wrongdoings.

The post Watch: Tensions Repeatedly Boil Over on Shanghai Metro appeared first on The Nanfang.

The Shanghai Metro is currently undergoing a campaign to crackdown on fare evaders, a huge problem that has plagued transportation systems all around China. And to prove just how tough they are, transit authorities  are even willing to enforce the law when it comes to the kind of person that has a special status in China: the foreigner, or as the public and reports call them, “laowai“.

Chinese news published a photograph from October 10 showing an unidentified expat being detained by subway personnel.

As reported by QQ News and The Paper, a subway worker on patrol at Changshou Lu Station on Line 7 stopped an expat for jumping the turnstile and not paying his fare. Able to understand Chinese, the expat was reportedly told by the transit employee the following:

It doesn’t matter from which country you are from, (everyone) must comply with the law here in China. You have violated our subway transportation management regulations, and are required to pay a fine of 84 yuan.

Not having the money to pay the fine on the spot, the expat called a friend for help. The subway worker told the expat’s friend that the fine for evading a fare on the Shanghai Metro is based on the highest maximum fare that can be issued on the metro, which is 14 yuan, and then multiplied by six. With the violation settled, the expat and friend left the station.

The news report ends with Shanghai Metro management saying this is not the first time foreigners have skipped paying fares on Shanghai’s subway, and gives the following stern warning:

In regards to dealing with fare evaders, we don’t discriminate in regards to which country a violator comes from. All must comply with the law or pay the requisite fine.

The Shanghai Metro’s “get tough” stance on fare evaders is consistent with the previously announced tentative plan to publicly shame fare evaders. However, the singling out of a “laowai” by the media has proven to be problematic. As seen in internet comments, the focus has changed to the uneasy relationship that Chinese have with foreigners.

The following internet comments are the three highest-rated from The Paper, followed by comments from Yangtse Evening Report:

风来疏竹:
Do foreigners in China have an indescribable sense of superiority? One reason is from a historical context, while another reason is because we (Chinese) always give them an elevated national status! Those in China who cling to this indescribable sense of inferiority are only helping to prolong this very unhealthy trend!

马克的回忆:
The superiority of foreigners has come to an end… send these foreign garbage back from whence they came.

沙雯:
A couple of days ago I saw three foreign women skip the fare. At the time I gave them a dirty look, but seeing this today has given everyone a great sense of satisfaction!

独眼龙x兼续_今天也是蓝天白云：
Fines for illegal activity in China are way too low. There should be a record made upon their personal credit. Many foreigners are law-abiding in their own countries, but will break the law after they come to China.

汪夆：
People that get by in China will eventually leave the country, while foreigners that don’t get by in their own countries will eventually arrive in China.

shelly青若依：
Therefore, we can now say that not all foreigners have exemplary morals and essences.

不是水瓶座的马甲：
I want to know if bangzi (a Chinese derogatory word for South Koreans) skip fares the most.

戴康meyo：
The majority of laowai that come to China are those who can’t make it in their own country. Strongly propose raising the entry requirements for foreigners coming to China.

好9-8见：
Expose his nationality. Anytime we Chinese people have a problem abroad, foreigners always directly say: Chinese tourists are such and such… [coldshoulder.emoji]

Related:

• Drunken Laowai Cause A Ruckus On Shanghai Metro
• Watch: Foreigner Faints on Shanghai Metro, Other Passengers Run Away
• African Expats Incite (Racist) Online Firestorm By Putting Up Their Feet
• Foreigner Who Just Couldn’t Hold It Arrested in Nanjing

The post Foreigners Busted in Citywide Crackdown on Shanghai Subway Fare Evaders appeared first on The Nanfang.

Under the proposed plan, fare evaders would have a photo of themselves published on the Metro’s Weibo account for all the world to see.

Although specific details of the policy weren’t disclosed, the Shanghai Metro did say that those caught in the act, and properly punished by authorities, would not be subjected to public shaming. The press release comes as a two-month campaign against fare evasion is set to start.

Shanghai Daily reports that public opinion has been overwhelmingly positive: more than 80 percent of respondents on a Shanghai government WeChat poll said they were in favor of the policy. The People’s Daily reported the ratio closer to 90 percent.

While most netizens are in favor of the use of public shaming as a device for policing, not everyone is on board. One person wrote, “I object! Only countries like North Korea would be so bold as to do something like this.”

Anonymity in the public eye is an ongoing concern for many people in China. News stories often use only partial names or pseudonyms, even if they are witnesses or actually part of the story, and pictures are often pixelated to hide people’s identities. It’s this desire for anonymity that makes the Shanghai Metro’s proposal such an interesting one.

There are already a number of examples of public shaming in China to help police its residents. Using DNA samples collected from discarded trash, an anti-littering campaign in Hong Kong published the faces of suspected litterers. In 2013, Shenzhen broadcast images of beggars suspected by authorities to be fake on a public LED screen. More recently in August, red light-runners in Shenzhen were forced to wear green hats, a cultural shaming equivalent to being cuckolded.

CCTV did its part to publicly shame fare dodgers in 2014 by broadcasting a (mostly) unadulterated video showing the identities of commuters crawling and hopping over turnstiles in subway stations across China.

Fare evasion remains a big problem in China. In 2012, over 202,000 people were fined 476,000 yuan for dodging fares on the Shanghai Metro, while Shenzhen said it lost five million yuan in 2013. A popular 2013 video showed 21 people jumping turn styles at the same Shanghai Metro entry gate within 90 seconds of each other.

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