China Leads World in Number of Metro Cities
AM730 · 1 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
China has become the world's clear leader in the number of cities with metro systems, far ahead of other countries by city count. Ministry of Transport operating data for August 2026 showed 54 mainland cities had urban rail transit in service, including 43 cities with metro systems, counting light rail, across 286 lines. The article says Jiangsu leads all provinces with six metro cities, while national approval thresholds and a pause on new approvals during the 14th Five-Year Plan have curbed rapid growth in the 2020s
Key Points
- China's transport ministry said 54 mainland cities had urban rail transit by August 2026, while 43 had metro systems including light rail
- Those 43 metro cities operated a combined 286 lines, spanning municipalities, provincial capitals and some non-capital prefecture-level cities
- Jiangsu ranked first by province with six metro cities: Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Xuzhou and Nantong
- Guangdong had four metro cities—Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan—while Taiwan had five cities with mass rapid transit systems
- India ranked second globally by metro-city count at about 20-plus in early 2026, ahead of the United States at about 15 and Japan at 13
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the comparison underlines how the mainland's urban rail build-out now dwarfs other markets, even though Hong Kong's MTR is excluded from the mainland official count. It also shows why future expansion is becoming more selective: high construction and operating costs, plus stricter fiscal and population thresholds, mean not every fast-growing city will get metro approval soon