Chongqing Rail Transit: monorail, metro, and how a foreigner pays for it

ExperienceJiangbei: the Airport, North Station, Jiangbeizui and Guanyinqiao

CHONGQING RAIL TRANSIT: MONORAIL, METRO, AND HOW A FOREIGNER PAYS FOR IT · CHONGQING GUIDAO JIAOTONG

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VERIFIED2026.09.21

Jiangbei: the Airport, North Station, Jiangbeizui and Guanyinqiao · 29.560°N 106.573°E

No ticketing

Line 2 and Line 3 are straddle-type monorails (the trains that run through a building at Liziba and along the cliff above the Jialing), and the rest of the network is metro; officially it is all 'rail transit' (轨道交通) and one ticket system, ¥2-10 by distance (¥2 for the first 4 km). The gates take a QR code from Alipay or WeChat (with a foreign card linked), a UnionPay contactless card, a physical single-journey ticket from the machine, or the city's own 'Yukuaima' code — but not a foreign Visa or Mastercard tapped at the gate: unlike Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu or Shenzhen, Chongqing has published no such service (checked September 2026). Since July 2024 you can at least buy the paper ticket with a foreign card at the staffed ticket window of every station (People's Bank of China Chongqing branch via city government).

Before you goDo not arrive expecting to tap a foreign bank card at the gate: the only bank cards the gates read are UnionPay contactless (QuickPass), with a ¥21 pre-authorisation per ride (rail group's 2023 figure, set under the old fares), and as of September 2026 nothing says Visa or Mastercard have been added at the gate — Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have all announced it; Chongqing has not. Set up Alipay or WeChat with a foreign card before you land, or keep cash for the ticket machines. The city's apps (渝畅行, 渝通行, 渝快办) all want real-name registration and we have not found written confirmation that a passport and a foreign number get through — try it, but do not depend on it. And use the same method in and out: mixing a card in and a code out leaves you stuck at the exit gate with a penalty charge. Something wrong here? Tell us →

Hours · Tickets · Booking+ Add to trip

AdmissionNo ticketingNo ticketing

HoursRoughly 6:30-23:00, by line; airport Line 10 from T3 6:30-23:49Source ↗

AddressWhole network; pin is Jiefangbei (Lines 1/2 Jiaochangkou, Line 2 Linjiangmen) for the mapNavigate ↗

EntranceEvery station: bag X-ray at the entrance, then the gates; manned ticket window plus machines in the concourse

Last verified 2026-09-21 Source: platforms and press

Paying on site

Single-journey ticket from the machine (cash) or the window; ride code in Alipay or WeChat (foreign card linked); UnionPay contactless card or phone wallet at the gate; foreign Visa/Mastercard/JCB/Amex at the POS of any staffed ticket window to buy a single, one-day or three-day ticket (all 212 stations since July 2024, central bank via city government)

Language

Station names and signs bilingual; ticket machines had an English mode and announcements on the main lines were Chinese and English on our visit; rail group hotline 023-68002222 (Chinese)

How to visit

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Did you know

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