More than 200 people are invited to take a ride on a subway train of Metro Line 9 on Dec 28. [Photo/Southcn.com]

Four subway lines including the south extension section of Line 4, the first phase projects of Line 9 and Line 13, the Line 14 Knowledge City Branch in Guangzhou all started trial operations on Dec 28.

More than 200 people including local citizens, workers, passenger representatives and journalists were invited to take a ride on Line 9 to witness this moment of tremendous importance for the Guangzhou Metro.  

With the opening of these four lines, Guangzhou's total number of subway lines now reaches 13, with total mileage hitting nearly 400 kilometers, ranking third amongst Chinese cities.

A special music performance is played by a group of musicians on Dec 28 to celebrate the operation of four subway lines in Guangzhou. [Photo/ycwb.com]

In the meantime, Guangzhou Metro have been striving to improve the construction of its facilities and passenger services for the sake of passenger travel experiences. Four stations including that of Nanhai God Temple station, Guangzhou North Railway Station and Sino-Singapore Knowledge City Station were built into thematic stations with distinctive Lingnan cultures, exhibiting the cultural elements of the city. More baby-care rooms were also built and non-cash payment machines were introduced to provide passengers even greater convenience when buying tickets.

Staff members of Guangzhou Metro celebrate the operation of line 9 at Huadu Square Station on Dec 28. [Photo/gzdaily.dayoo.com] 

According to Guangzhou Metro, even more lines will start operations in Guangzhou in the future with the city's total subway mileage expected to reach 500 kilometers by 2019, covering 11 city districts.