I'll be living on BeijingXi Lu and ShiMen Lu (Nanking Xi Lu Metro Station) and my office is on Guilin lu (somewhere between Cao Bao Road Station on Metro 1 and Cao Xi Road Staion on Metro Line 3.) After getting off of those two stops I'd still have to take a taxi to get to the office.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to get to/from work during rush hours since I heard it's crazy and packed.

Ques: 1) Do Lines 1 and 3 intersect at ZhongShan Park?? Different maps show different info. If so, is this less crowded than taking Line 1 from Nanking West and transferring to Line 2 at PPl's Square??

2) Does anyone know how easy/difficult it is to hail a cab from Cao Bao Road and Cao Xi Road Stations? Or perhaps getting off somewhere beforhand and hailing a cab?

3) If this metro+taxi commute is going to be a headache, I'm considering hiring a taxi/private car to take me to/from work on weekdays. Can anyone recommend companies or private drivers with cars that would do so? I called 4 taxi companies but they all replied that monthly bookings have been filled up. What to do?? I was advised to look on local newspapers for ads but....not sure how.

Thanks so much.

Used to work in Cao Bao Lu x Cao Ci Bei Lu.

Answering your questions one by one:

1-Line 2 and 3 do intersect in ZhongShan Park (please notice that the line Nanjing XI Lu Station belongs to is line 2). I think it is viable as an alternative as Line 1 is the most crowded of all lines.

2-Not too difficult, but you will get a lot of traffic.

3-Line 2 + Line 3 is your best bet. A short walk after dropping off line 3 (close to IKEA) might be necessary. DIstance between line 3 and Cao Bao Road Station is 15 minutes by foot.

Man...I used to have lunch at IKEA every other day, great meatballs and salads!

hc, Thanks for the reply.
Oops, my error in the original question 1, should read Does Line '2' and 3 intersect. Thanks for answering that.

WOW...Where is Ikea?? My office is on #396 Guilin Road, close to TianLin Road. The neighborhood was very industrial like and I didn't see many restaurants as from a brief visit. Any lunch recommendations or info on that neighborhood would be much appreciated.

Still looking for car/taxi hire info, if anyone has it. TIA!

You can check streets and stuff here:
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/map.phtml

i find this online map more updated... have a look

http://www.mapofshanghai.com/

Just a thought. Is changing your place of residence an option? I live at Nandan Dong Lu and Cao Xi Bei Lu in Xujiahui. There are a lot of nice apartment complexes in the area and your place of work would definitely be accessible by bike if you were so inclined. Ikea is about a 13 minute walk from the intersection where I live. Xujiahui is a good area to live in.

maeastro: I've contemplated changing residence but I'm overseas and the one on Beijing XiLu was the only one that appealed to me and has 6 months commitment. Perhaps I will change living quarters when I arrive in SH and know the area/ppl more. It's real hard to commit to a one year lease from abroad, w/out seeing the place. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep Xujiahui in mind. What is the name of your complex/building??

Bon Bons,

The name of my complex is La Cite, but no locals will know it as such. Expat real estate agents will know it by this name. I moved here without having an apartment and stayed in hotel / friends for about 2 weeks before we settled on a place. A bit of a hassle, but the choice worked out well in the end.

Here is a map of places in XJH. The map can be a bit confusing, but just make sure you match up both the numbers and the colours!

http://metropolis-sh.com/plink/m-puxipu ... 4-2006.htm

There are a number of places, but for places close to your work, look at La Cite (19) and Oriental Manhattan (aka Century Metropolis) - (21). There is also a new complex just being finished called Novel Century a little east of my complex in XJH. It's at Tianyaoqiao Road roughly Nandan Dong Lu. There is also a new complex going up on the north side of the road / opposite Shanghai Indoor Stadium on Ling Ling Road.

The map also lists subways and you can see that Line 9 will eventually probably take you exactly where you need to go (XJH to quite close to your work). However, the map is wrong because due to problems with relocating residents, the line does not yet connect with the rest of the subway station at Yishan Road (Lines 3/4) or XJH (Line 1). It is scheduled to connect with them at the end of 2008 / early 2009.

You can check out a cool subway map at exploreshanghai.com

Part of the choice in buildings also depends on your budget and whether you're paying for rent on your own or not. There are high end local buildings in XJH but they aren't listed on the map above or shown by expat real estate agents.

Ask your office to check if any buses from either metro station can take you to the office. There are good websites in Chinese that help you find any bus route from point A to B.

ok, thanks for the metro and bus info. I hear that rush traffic is REAL BAD, so that is a bit worrisome since my choice of residence is far from work. For the first week or 2, I'm seriously thinking of hiring a taxi or car/driver, just to get familiar with the locations.

maestro: Do you know anything about the building on No 100, xin gen rd (cross tian yao qiao rd) called 'Yong Xin Hua Yuan'? Looks like #28 Yong Xin Garden on the apt building map you provided.

Yong Xin Hua Yuan = Yong Xin Garden, as Hua Yuan= Garden