Beijing underground

Moments on the move: One local photographer's perspective on the capital's mass transit system over the past decade

The Beijing subway officially opened to the public on Sept 11, 1981.

With the most recent line opening late last year, the total length of the subway is now about 554 kilometers, representing more than 55 percent of the total public transport in the city.

It now has 18 lines, covering 11 municipal districts. Every day, tens of thousands of people take the Beijing subway.

Since 2007, photographer Zhang Xinghai has been recording daily life on the subway. He takes the underground railway at least twice a day and has been doing so regularly for 10 years.

Tired faces of workers were seen on the Batong line during evening rush hour, Nov 8, 2011. Photos by Zhang Xinghai / For China Daily

Passengers push a woman against the door on Line 1, March 22, 2011, while others crowd the escalator in Guomao station's transit tunnel on Feb 23, 2012.

(China Daily European Weekly 11/18/2016 page4)