Art and Architecture on the line
An extended commute around Shenzhen’s stylish metro stations
Art and Architecture on the line
An extended commute around Shenzhen’s stylish metro stations
Shenzhen’s Metro is the fifth-longest in the world. In 2026, it boasts 622 kilometres of track spread over 17 lines and 421 stations. An impressive network, especially since the city only started digging in 1999. The first line opened at the end of December 2004. It is a clean, efficient and inexpensive way for the city’s 17.5 million population to get around.
Most of the stations on the network are pretty much standardised in their design, though there is often a little decorative flourish to set each one apart. But a few have quite distinctive architectural and design features, many of which have become popular photo spots for influencers and social media fans. So with rainy season upon us, I burrowed into subterranean Shenzhen to visit a few.
The most famous station is Ganxia North. Arriving on Line 11 for the first time, my eyes were drawn to the heavens as my chin crashed to the floor. Above is a huge circular atrium with spiral patterns leading to a glass dome, which allows the daylight to stream in. It is nicknamed the Eye of Shenzhen. There are smaller skylights around the perimeter which, together, allow for a bright, airy atmosphere, presumably minimising the need for artificial light. It was an instant hit with photographers of all stripes. The station is also a major interchange between Lines 2/8, 10, 11 and 14.
Line 8 had originally been planned as a separate line, but was later revised to be an extension to Line 2. It kept its old line designation, but for the passenger, it can be considered as one, with trains running from end to end across both.
Keep fit while commuting
The next stop along Line 14 is Huangmugang, which interchanges with Line 7. The first thing I noticed, after a rather mesmerising, barcode-patterned ceiling, was how far it was across the platform from one line to the next. You could fit a football field in here, I thought.
I was not far wrong, the footprint of Huangmugang is vast. Ride up the escalator, and you will find a gym, badminton courts, and table tennis tables. At 11 am on a Tuesday, though, there were not many customers. I told the enthusiastic young man in charge that I don’t play table tennis. No matter, he assured me, for ¥97 I could book three hours, which would include a free one-hour training session followed by two hours of practice against the robot ping-pong ball launcher.
I settled for a robot-launched coffee and went off to contemplate the huge columns that hold it all in place. There are three levels with an atrium and skylights. The station has twenty-one exits.
Universiade station is also on Line 14; it interchanges with Lines 3 and 16. Line 3 is the only line I have found, so far, that has a section above ground. To get to it involves passing through yet another large atrium. This one has, I think, the longest single escalator I have seen. Below ground, cool white lines curl and twist in almost fluid motion. At least between Lines 3 and 14. I have a nagging feeling there is still a significant part of this station I didn’t see. Line 16 must remain a mystery for now.
Pond Life
The fluid lines continue further along Line 3 at Xinsheng, where the line is no longer elevated. Instead, in the imaginations of its interior designers, it is in one of the half-moon ponds that are often found at the front of many Hakka villages.
Riding up the escalator from the platforms is like entering the pond from the bottom. Green columns are the stalks of lily pads, gently curved lighting reflects ripples on he surface, and a large droplet splashes in from above, and silver fish suspended from above add a final flourish.
The ocean is celebrated at Dameisha, the beach resort stop near the eastern end of Line 2/8. Another domed atrium allows natural light to flood into a blue and white bubble and wave-themed concourse and down to the platforms. There are escalators and lifts at either end of the station, but the emergency stairs, rather than being an inconvenient necessity tucked away at the end, are a feature of the overall design.
The two staircases curve down from the centre of the main concourse to the platforms below. Once down there, you will find a cute, whale-shaped bench on which to sit and wait for your train.
Cathedrals and constellations
Shenzhen University and Shigu are both on Line 14, one of the two lines operated by Hong Kong’s MTR Corp. It is also one of the system’s newer lines, with one end serving Shenzhen Bay, the border crossing with the Special Administrative Region.
The concourse at Shigu must have been inspired by the architecture of medieval European churches. High columns and arches which meet at a four pointed stars along a central aisle. Two other aisles, one on each side, complete the basic pattern. There are no stained glass windows, but there are a number of ornamental birds placed at various locations to quietly break the strong linear discipline.
There are no straight lines at Shenzhen University. Funky turquoise spirals, like galaxies, swirl above the platforms and passages. Or is it the bands of a tropical storm? Either way, they lead to an escalator, bathed in orange hues, above which a circular vortex draws passengers up to the concourse level. Whatever the imagination says, with a colour scheme of teal and orange, it was always going to be a hit with social media photographers and students alike.
There are other stations that I know of but haven’t yet had a chance to visit, and I’ve no doubt there are still more that I don’t know about. I’m saving them for when the weather is too wet to go outside. But with another hundred kilometres of line planned to open over the next ten years, the list, I’m sure, will expand considerably. So I will exit here and say, to be continued …
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