On Tuesday, August 9, the Shenzhen subway unveiled a system that allows passengers to pay via WeChat at 10 stations. On top of the Window of the World and Convention and Exhibition Center stations, which already supported WeChat Pay, that makes for a total of 12 stops that no longer require card-less riders to fumble for spare change.
The stations now allowing WeChat Pay are all on lines 1, 2, 3, and 4:
Baishizhou
Convention and Exhibition Center (Huizhan Zhongxin)
Daxin
Gangxia
Grand Theater (Da Juyuan)
Guomao
OCT (Huaqiao Cheng)
Qiaocheng Dong
Shenzhen University (Shen Da)
Shopping Park (Gouwu Gongyuan)
Window of the World (Shijie Zhi Chuang)
Zhuzilin
How can you take advantage of this new development? As long as you have your Chinese bank account linked to your WeChat, it's very easy. Pay for and retrieve your subway token via the six simple steps outlined below, no cash required:
Step 1: Follow Shenzhen Metro on WeChat
Pretty self-explanatory. Just scan the QR code below and click "follow" for Shenzhen Metro's WeChat account (深圳地铁 metro).
Step 2: Select "Buy tickets."
Enter the WeChat account and tap the leftmost option on the bar at the bottom (see below). A small menu will pop up with two options: the one on top is to "buy tickets," while the other is to "check orders." Choose the first; the second will come in handy later.
Step 3: Plan your route.
This part may get a little tricky for those who struggle to read Chinese. But the relatively intuitive process makes it pretty easy to navigate, even if you don't understand all the characters.
Simply put, your starting point goes on the top left and your destination goes on the topright. Like so:
Once you tap either area, a menu will pop up with a list of the 12 stations that support WeChat Pay. They're organized both alphabetically and according to their subway lines (on the left sidebar).
If you have trouble reading the characters, you can enter the pinyin for a station name into the search bar at the top. If a Chinese name slips your mind, you can always reference the list at the beginning of this article. Just remember not to enter any spaces between words.
After you're done choosing stations, you can select how many tickets (up to eight at a time) you want in the area below. The price, shown near the bottom, will automatically adjust according to your choices.
For the sake of illustration, we chose one of the shortest routes possible, from Shopping Park to Convention and Exhibition Center. You'll notice that there's no discount on ticket prices here, whereas Shenzhen Tong card users can save a marginal amount of money on each trip.
Step 4: Pay
Click the blue "buy" button on the screen once you're ready. Just like with all WeChat purchases, you'll be prompted to enter your PIN code.
Once you're done, you'll get a receipt and your virtual 'ticket.' Besides your itinerary, it also contains a QR code you'll need later.
The fine print at the bottom explains that after buying your ticket, you'll need to use it on the same day; if it goes unused the money will automatically be refunded to your account.
It also notes that if you exit the order screen, you can still access your ticket anytime by entering the Shenzhen Metro app again. Once inside, you can either click the"check orders" option (see Step 1) or select "buy tickets," then "purchased tickets" (购票记录) on the bottom left of the screen.
"Purchased tickets"
Step 5: Redeem your QR code at the station.
If you've bought online movie tickets before, this process will seem familiar to you. Inside the subway station, go to the row of token vending machines, where you'll find a slightly smaller machine off to the side. It'll look something like this:
"Gogogo!"
All you have to do is pull up the QR code on your phone and hold it up to the barcode scanning area on the right side of the machine (labeled in English and Chinese). Once the code has been scanned, the machine will automatically dispense a subway token into the slot near the bottom.
Step 6: Enter the subway
Retrieve your token and be on your way.
Pretty painless, right?
[Images via Wikipedia, Shenzhen News, Bailey Hu]
0 User Comments