Hangzhou Metro (Chinese: 杭州地铁) is a metro system that will serve the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang and its suburbs. The construction commenced in March 2006, and has opened on November 24, 2012.
The opened line made Hangzhou the 17th city in the People's Republic of China to have a rapid transit system. The first line, Line 1 is 48 kilometers in length, with 30 stations, it is the longest first section of metro ever opened in PR China. Line 1 has a projected cost of 22.08 billion yuan. Line 1 originates in Xiaoshan Xiang Lake, stretches across downtown Hangzhou after crossing the Qiantang River and it ends in Linping, with a branch line ending in Xiasha, which diverges from the main line at Jiubao. Line 1 connects downtown Hangzhou with suburban area of the city. A total of 8 lines with a length of 278 km are planned.
On January 2009, it was announced that MTR Corp would operate and invest in a 22 billion-yuan ($3.2 billion) / 25 year / 49% share joint venture with the Hangzhou government.
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