Even Wuhan (“The Chicago of China”) has a pretty nifty metro system. It only has 12 lines currently (compared to Shenzhen’s 17), with ~520km of track (compared to Shenzhen’s ~580km) serving 312 stations (compared to Shenzhen’s 398). Like Shenzhen it’s ultramodern, smooth, fast, and comfortable.

Here’s Wuhan’s lines and start dates. (There are extensions to almost all of these that were built over ensuing years.)

And here’s Shenzhen’s:

Both are awesome systems that are constantly growing. (Both Shenzhen and Wuhan are constantly extending lines on each end: line 11 in Wuhan just opened a new extension on December 28, 2024 that dramatically lengthens its run and connects it to several other lines.)

Note that both of these metro systems started building in 1999 (Shenzhen) and 2000 (Wuhan). The New York City Subway opened in 1904 and now, 120 years later, has 36 lines, 472 stations, and about 1400km of track. In a sixth of that time Wuhan has constructed a system that has ~33% of the lines, ~66% of the stations, and ~37% of the track. For Shenzhen those percentages are ~47%, ~84%, and ~37% respectively. Picture how much larger they’re going to be in another 100 years…