Published : 2025-01-15
On January 15, 1971, the first phase of the Beijing Subway began trial operations.
The Beijing Subway is the first subway in Mainland China, making Beijing the first city in China to have a subway.
The initial phase of operations included only the section from Beijing Station to Lixin Station (now Gongzhufen Station), with a total of 10 stations and a line length of approximately 10.7 kilometres.
Although it was a trial operation, the Beijing Subway was not open to the public at that time.
It was considered a wartime preparedness project, and tickets and tours could only be purchased with an introduction letter from one's employer. The fare for a one-way ticket was 0.1 CNY.
It was not until after 1978 that the Beijing Subway gradually started to provide services to the public.
In 1981, the Beijing Subway Company was established, and the first phase of the subway officially began operations. That year, the annual passenger volume of the Beijing Subway reached 64.66 million, with an average daily passenger volume of 177,000.
