Subway system stretches into the future

Three decades ago Shanghai had no metro network, but today it boasts the world's longest subway systems, which stretches more than 705 kilometers with 415 stations.

Along the way it has had to overcome construction and engineering problems associated with soft soil conditions and land subsidence.

"With high construction standards and pioneering methods, the metro development in the municipality over the past 26 years has gone through a process that took almost a century in some developed countries," said Feng Hao, an information officer with Shanghai Shentong Metro Group.