Guangzhou Metro

Guangzhou Metro (simplified Chinese: 广州地铁; traditional Chinese: 廣州地鐵; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu Dìtiě; Jyutping: Gwong²zau¹ Dei⁶tit³) is the metro system of the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Guangzhou Metro Corporation and was the fourth metro system to be built in mainland China, after those of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.

The earliest efforts to build an underground rapid transit system in Guangzhou date back to 1960. In the two decades that followed, the project was brought into the agenda five times, but ended up abandoned each time due to financial and technical difficulties. Preparation of what would lead to today's Guangzhou Metro did not start until the 1980s, and it was not until 1993 that construction of the first line, Line 1, officially began. Line 1 opened four years later in 1997 with five stations in operation.

As of December 2013, Guangzhou Metro has nine lines in operation, namely Line 1, Line 2, Line 3, Line 4, Line 5, Line 6, Line 8, Guangfo Line, and Zhujiang New Town APM. A major portion of the metro system services the urban areas of the city, while Lines 2, 3 and 4 also reach into the suburban areas in Huadu, Baiyun District, Panyu and Nansha; Guangfo Line connects Guangzhou and Foshan and is the first intercity underground metro line in the country. Daily service hours start at 6:00 am and end at midnight, and ridership averages 5.63 million. Having delivered 2.054 billion rides in 2013, Guangzhou Metro is the sixth busiest metro system in the world, after the metro systems of Tokyo, Seoul, Moscow, Beijing, and Shanghai. Guangzhou Metro operates 164 stations, including 21 interchange stations, and 260.5 km of tracks.