Yang Cheng Tong
Encyclopedia
Yang Cheng Tong, is a contactless
rechargeable stored value smartcard designed for paying the travel fares in the metro
, bus
es, taxi
s and ferries
in Guangzhou
, China
and surrounding cities, namely Foshan
, Huadu, Zengcheng
and Panyu
. It was developed and managed by Guangzhou Yang Cheng Tong Limited (广州羊城通有限公司), Guangzhou Public Transport Data Control Center (tentative English translation of 廣州市公共運輸數據管理中心) and Guangzhou Metro Corporation
.
The card is also sometimes accepted by city merchants, zoos, restaurants, parking meters, and in other establishments as payment. With the card holder's personal information stored in the Yang Cheng Tong, further functions can be applied, such as access control
of buildings and roll call in school. The system was successfully launched in 30 December, 2001. According to the official statistics announced by its operator, the circulation of Yang Cheng Tong is over 5 million cards and 2.2 million transactions per day.
Yang Cheng Tong literally means Ram City Pass, since the Five Rams) statue is one of the important landmark
s in Guangzhou. Wu Yang Cheng or Yang Cheng are both well-known nicknames of Guangzhou among Chinese people.
There are different types of the Yang Cheng Tong card, but their functions are basically the same.
Moreover, there are insufficient facilities to refill the card value with cash
. Currently there are only two Yang Cheng Tong customer service centers, a few 7-Eleven
stores and a small number of Guangzhou Metro
stations accepting the cash for recharging value to Yang Cheng Tong card. Otherwise, a bank card is required for using automatic self-service add-value terminals located at each Guangzhou Metro station and in joint banks, McDonald's
restaurants, car parks, etc.
You can load cash to your Yang Cheng Tong at every 7-eleven, many other small retailers that accept the card for payment. This means there is literally no building block without a facility to load your card.
The reaction of the turnstiles of the metro to swiping your card is immediately and does not cause delays.
An issue with the Guangzhou Yang Cheng Tong smart card is, however, that the system seems to be very old in terms of IT systems. It was first used in the late nineties of the twentieth century. That is why the card does not support fare integration with other modes of transport, e.g. when you do a trip with multiple interchanges between bus and metro, you will have to pay again at every transfer from one to another mode of transport.
Radio Frequency Identification
Radio-frequency identification is a technology that uses radio waves to transfer data from an electronic tag, called RFID tag or label, attached to an object, through a reader for the purpose of identifying and tracking the object. Some RFID tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the...
rechargeable stored value smartcard designed for paying the travel fares in the metro
Guangzhou Metro
Guangzhou Metro is the metro system of the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Guangzhou Metro Corporation and was the fourth metro system to be built in mainland China, after those of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.The earliest effort of preparation...
, bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es, taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
s and ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
in Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and surrounding cities, namely Foshan
Foshan
Foshan is a city in central Guangdong province in southern China. The prefectural area under the city's jurisdiction over an area of about 3,840 km² and a population of 5.4 million of which 1.1 million reside in the city proper ....
, Huadu, Zengcheng
Zengcheng
Zengcheng , historically known as Tsengshing , is a County-level city in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.It is known for the production of blue jeans. In June 2011 it was the scene of a riot of migrant workers.-External links:*...
and Panyu
Panyu
Panyu District or Pun Yue District is a district in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It used to be a county-level city before it was incorporated in the administration of Guangzhou. The name of Panyu dates back to the completion of the conquest of Guangdong by Qin Shi Huang. It was the old name of...
. It was developed and managed by Guangzhou Yang Cheng Tong Limited (广州羊城通有限公司), Guangzhou Public Transport Data Control Center (tentative English translation of 廣州市公共運輸數據管理中心) and Guangzhou Metro Corporation
Guangzhou Metro
Guangzhou Metro is the metro system of the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Guangzhou Metro Corporation and was the fourth metro system to be built in mainland China, after those of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.The earliest effort of preparation...
.
The card is also sometimes accepted by city merchants, zoos, restaurants, parking meters, and in other establishments as payment. With the card holder's personal information stored in the Yang Cheng Tong, further functions can be applied, such as access control
Access control
Access control refers to exerting control over who can interact with a resource. Often but not always, this involves an authority, who does the controlling. The resource can be a given building, group of buildings, or computer-based information system...
of buildings and roll call in school. The system was successfully launched in 30 December, 2001. According to the official statistics announced by its operator, the circulation of Yang Cheng Tong is over 5 million cards and 2.2 million transactions per day.
Yang Cheng Tong literally means Ram City Pass, since the Five Rams) statue is one of the important landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
s in Guangzhou. Wu Yang Cheng or Yang Cheng are both well-known nicknames of Guangzhou among Chinese people.
Type of cards
- Standard card, sold for 80RMB and containing deposit value of 30RMB. Deposit will be refunded when the card is returned.
- Memorial card, deposit not included and refund of this type is prohibited. For example, the designs of these cards in 2006 are travel spots-themed, sold for 20RMB each card. When showing this card to relative spot box office, 10% discount would be offered for admission.
- Xeno-card is a wrist watch, key chain or cell phone lanyard which is implanted with the chip used in Yang Cheng Tong cards. These products may derive from the idea of Octopus watch.
- Enterprise card.
- Joint card.
Criticism
Compared to other contactless smartcards in use, the data transmission of Yang Cheng Tong is criticized by commuters that it takes 1~2 seconds between the card and reader to complete the transaction, though the operator claims that the data communication only costs 0.5 seconds in its official site.Moreover, there are insufficient facilities to refill the card value with cash
Cash
In common language cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, cash refers to current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately...
. Currently there are only two Yang Cheng Tong customer service centers, a few 7-Eleven
7-Eleven
7-Eleven is part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co...
stores and a small number of Guangzhou Metro
Guangzhou Metro
Guangzhou Metro is the metro system of the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Guangzhou Metro Corporation and was the fourth metro system to be built in mainland China, after those of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.The earliest effort of preparation...
stations accepting the cash for recharging value to Yang Cheng Tong card. Otherwise, a bank card is required for using automatic self-service add-value terminals located at each Guangzhou Metro station and in joint banks, McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
restaurants, car parks, etc.
You can load cash to your Yang Cheng Tong at every 7-eleven, many other small retailers that accept the card for payment. This means there is literally no building block without a facility to load your card.
The reaction of the turnstiles of the metro to swiping your card is immediately and does not cause delays.
An issue with the Guangzhou Yang Cheng Tong smart card is, however, that the system seems to be very old in terms of IT systems. It was first used in the late nineties of the twentieth century. That is why the card does not support fare integration with other modes of transport, e.g. when you do a trip with multiple interchanges between bus and metro, you will have to pay again at every transfer from one to another mode of transport.