iPhone Screenshots
Description
Navigate subway system with detailed maps of all stations. Search for locations and routes without an internet connection. View station names in English and simplified Chinese.
Wuhan's metro, drawn as a map you'll want to keep. Whale's Wuhan Metro puts the whole Wuhan Metro — 16 lines and 350 stations, everything open in 2026 — on a paper-and-ink map made for this app, with every station named in English, Chinese and pinyin. Works offline. Free.
THE MAP
Cream paper, ink lettering, a touch of vermilion: a map that reads like the city instead of a diagram. Every line in its official colour, with its number repeated along the line so you never lose track of which one you're on. Interchanges carry badges for every line that stops there, each terminus is named, and the rivers, lakes and shoreline are drawn in. The Yellow Crane Tower, East Lake, Wuhan University, Hubu Alley and the Hankou Riverside are marked where they really are. It's drawn as vectors, so pinch in as far as you like — it stays crisp.
FIND A STATION
• Type any station in English, Chinese or pinyin — "Jianghan Road", "江汉路" or the first few letters all work
• The whale flies you there and points at it
• Your recent stations are remembered
PLAN A ROUTE
• Tap a station, then another: the fewest-stops route is drawn bold with everything else dimmed
• Transfers and a journey-time estimate on the card — Hankou Railway Station to the Yellow Crane Tower, for example
• Share the route as text to a friend, or to your notes
READ THE SIGNS
• Every station card shows the Chinese name, pinyin with tone marks, and English
• Tap the speaker to hear the name spoken aloud
• Highlight a single line to trace it from end to end
MADE FOR TRAVEL
• Fully offline: no roaming, no VPN, no account, nothing to download after install
• Day or night: the paper map, or ink on slate — your choice in About
• iPhone and iPad
• Free, supported by one small banner
WHAT'S ON THE MAP
Line 2 to Tianhe Airport, Lines 5, 11, 12, 16 and 19, the Yangluo line, the Optics Valley trams L1 and L2, and the Auto City T1 tram. 44 interchange stations, all with badges.
GOOD TO KNOW
Is it up to date? Yes — 16 lines and 350 stations as of 2026, including this year's openings. Station positions come from OpenStreetMap; the design and layout are ours.
Learning Chinese? Every station card links to HSK Hero, our recognition game for the 5,000 HSK words — the same studio, the same care.
Going to other cities? Whale's Metro Maps cover Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xi'an and Zhengzhou. The More Cities tab links to each.
Who makes it? Handtechnics, a small independent studio that has been making Chinese travel and learning apps since 2012.
Download it before you land. 一路平安!