Transport in Wuhan

On my first day in Wuhan I decided that a little walk into the city centre was a good option. Only upon walking a mile or so down the road did it begin to dawn on me that my notion of being close to a nucleated centre might be a little off. Whilst at the time I felt like a bit of a let-down for giving up and retreating to my apartment, in retrospect it was a decision that saved me a lot of wasted effort. Due to the fact that Wuhan is an amalgamation of three older cities (Wuchang, Hanyang and Hankou) there is no one definitive centre, rather each district has its own downtown areas. Not only this, but the sprawling nature of the city would have meant that I would have been walking for hours before getting to the kind of area I was looking for. When getting around Wuhan you are reliant upon public transport, which is luckily quite good.

Buses are probably the easiest and cheapest way of getting around Wuhan. From wherever you are in the city you will never be far from a bus stop, with buses coming every few minutes. The bus network itself is also very extensive, making it that much easier to get around. For ticket fares they employ a flat rate for all journeys, thus long journeys across the city can cost as little as 2RMB. On the downside though, bus timetables are only written in Chinese characters so if you do plan on getting an unfamiliar route make sure you know the name of your destination in characters! At peak times buses can be somewhat overcrowded which on a hot summer day is not the most enjoyable experience.

Traffic in Wuhan can be particularly bad at rush hour, something made worse by the fact that drivers in Wuhan can be a law unto themselves at times. Lanes, signalling and even traffic lights are sometimes a hindrance that a number of drivers choose to ignore! Having said that, other than minor scrapes I have never seen a really serious accident much less been in one, so I guess they’re doing something right. On the plus side with the construction of more overpasses and particularly the subway, congestion has eased somewhat recently, and with more lines on the subway opening this year and next, I am hoping that this is a trend that will continue.

The abundance and relatively low cost of taxis also makes them a convenient way of getting around the city. A journey of 30-40 minutes would cost around 30RMB, which while expensive compared to catching the bus, is certainly cheaper than taxis in most other countries. Again though, it is a rare taxi driver that speaks any English so make sure you learn the Chinese for wherever it is you want to go. Taxi drivers are usually quite patient and friendly though, and I have found that they are some of the best people to practise Chinese with. What I would say though is be prepared for more probing questions than you might be asked at home – the details of my monthly salary being something that most taxi drivers are very interested in!

Luckily for those coming to Wuhan now there is now a metro system which is both cheap and (more importantly) in English. Presently only two lines are open, one going across the city horizontally, while the other stretches the length of Hankou. Many of the more visited areas in the city are accessible from the existing lines and with more lines planned to open in the coming years, the city will soon be fully connected. For now though, crowded buses will have to do.