Jane Macartney in Beijing
Beijing opened its first new underground line in 40 years yesterday, in a further sign of its resolve to ensure the success of next year's Olympics.

Members of the public rode on the Beijing No 5 Line, which is every bit as smart and swift as the latest systems to open in Hong Kong or London. The marble station floors, the electronic travel guides and the gleaming steel sliding doors are a far cry from the city’s other two lines, which were built in the late 1960s and look as if they have barely changed since.

Beijing opened a new subway line yesterday in a bid to boost public transport and ease road congestion ahead of the Olympics.

Beijing's No 5 subway line, which runs through the heart of the city from north to south, opened at 2:00pm yesterday, when the week-long National Day holiday ended.

The 27.6-km line, after nearly five years' construction, is installed with 23 stations and runs from Tiantongyuan North Station in northern Beijing's Changping district to Songjiazhuang Station in southern Fengtai district.