Getting Here & Onward

Two airports, and which one you land at changes your first hour

Pudong (PVG) is the main international gateway, on the coast about thirty kilometres east of the centre. Hongqiao (SHA) is much closer in on the west side and handles domestic flights plus a handful of regional routes — and it is attached to Hongqiao Railway Station, which is one of the largest in the world.

If your itinerary lets you choose, landing at Hongqiao saves the better part of an hour.

From Pudong into town

• Metro line 2 runs from the airport into the centre. It is cheap and it works. ⚠️ On some services you must change trains partway at Guanglan Road — an easy change, but an unexpected one with luggage.
• The Maglev to Longyang Road in about seven minutes, then a metro change. Fast, remarkable, and not actually a door-to-door saving.
• Airport buses run to set points across the city and take luggage properly.
• A taxi from the official rank. Around an hour to the centre in normal traffic, and reasonable value split between two or more people.

⭐ Arriving by train, which is often the better way

China's high-speed network is exceptional and Shanghai is one of its hubs. Suzhou is around half an hour away. Hangzhou is around three quarters of an hour. Nanjing is a little over an hour, and Beijing is a shade under five. On those distances the train beats flying comfortably once airports are counted.

⚠️ You need your passport to buy and to board — it is the ticket. Book ahead through the official railway app or a reputable agent, and allow real time at the station: the big ones are airport-sized and involve a security check to get in.

Trains leave from Hongqiao, Shanghai Railway Station and Shanghai South — confirm which, because they are far apart.

⚠️ Before any of that: check whether you need a visa

This is the section that changes most often and matters most. Shanghai is one of the ports covered by China's visa-free transit arrangements, and separately a growing list of nationalities have unilateral visa-free entry for short stays. Both have been extended, altered and re-extended repeatedly.

⛔ Do not take any figure you read anywhere — including here — as current. See Visas & Entry for how the rules work and where to check them against your own passport.