There's no hotel past security at Pudong, but 30 sleep pods in the international departure areas, rest areas and free showers serve passengers changing planes. Aerotel, in Terminal 2, rents rooms by the hour, before passport control.
Can you sleep at Shanghai airport during a layover?
Yes, past security, if you're on a through ticket: Pudong's 30 sleep pods in the international departure areas cost 35 yuan for 30 minutes, 65 yuan for an hour and 299 yuan for 8 hours (seen November 2026), with no booking. There's no hotel on that side. Aerotel's hourly rooms in Terminal 2 are before passport control, so you need to be able to enter China to use them.
Sleeping past security
Most passengers changing planes at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) never pass the border: on a through ticket, leaving China within 24 hours, you stay past security. There’s no hotel on that side, but there are sleep pods, rest areas and free showers, and you need no visa to use them.
Sleep pods. Thirty private cabins in the international departure areas, open 24 hours:
| Where | Cabins |
|---|---|
| Terminal 1, near Gates 25 and 26 | 15 |
| Terminal 2, near Gate 64 | 15 |
| Time | Price (seen November 2026) |
|---|---|
| 30 minutes | 35 yuan |
| 1 hour | 65 yuan |
| 90 minutes | 95 yuan |
| 8 hours | 299 yuan |
There’s no booking: cabins go first come, first served, so on a busy night have a back-up in mind. Pay at the cabin door with Alipay or WeChat Pay, or in yuan cash; with a foreign card, pay at the counter nearby and staff open the door for you. Foreign cash has to be changed into yuan first. A child under 12 and under 1.4 metres tall can share a cabin with one adult. Use the pods in the terminal your next flight leaves from, so you wake up near your gate.
Free rest areas. The airport has rest areas with sofa seating and private rest cabins for passengers changing planes, with nothing to pay. Ask at a transfer or information desk for the nearest to your gate.
Hotels in and next to the terminals
| Hotel | Where | Airside or landside | How you get there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerotel Shanghai Pudong Airport | Terminal 2, levels 6 and 7 | Landside, before passport control | Behind check-in counter G in Terminal 2, to the food court on level 4, then the lift to level 6 |
| Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Airport | Beside the airport, 6009 Yingbin Avenue | Landside, before passport control | A covered walkway from Terminals 1 and 2 |
Aerotel has 82 rooms, rented by the hour, so it doubles as Pudong’s day-room hotel. Because it’s before passport control, you need to be able to enter China to reach it: on the 240-hour transit, the 30-day entry or a visa (visa and transit rules). It suits a night landing before a morning in town, separate tickets, or a rest before checking in for an early flight. Book ahead.
The Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Airport is the other hotel you can walk to: a covered walkway links it to Terminals 1 and 2. It’s outside the terminals, so it too needs you to be able to enter China. It suits a full night before an early flight, or separate tickets.
Showers
Pudong offers free 24-hour showers to passengers changing planes; ask at a transfer or information desk where to find them. Before passport control, Aerotel sells showers to people who aren’t staying.
Lounges you can pay for
Aerotel’s lounge in Terminal 2, before passport control, is open to people who aren’t staying, along with its restaurant and co-working space. Past security, ask at your airline’s transfer desk which lounge your ticket or card gets you into.
Left luggage
Aerotel, landside on levels 6 and 7 of Terminal 2, stores bags for people who aren’t staying; ask there for the price. On one ticket you won’t need it: your checked bags go through to your next flight. On separate tickets, leave them there before you head into town, so they’re waiting where you’ll check in.
Connections, money and Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi. Free throughout the terminals: join #AirportPVG-Free-WiFi and log in with a photo of your passport, a code sent by text, a passport kiosk, or the Shanghai Airports mini-program in WeChat.
- Foreign apps. Many, Google’s and WhatsApp among them, don’t work on China’s networks, the airport’s Wi-Fi included. Download an offline map and save your bookings before you fly, and ask your mobile provider or eSIM seller what will work in China.
- SIM cards. Shops in the terminals sell Chinese SIM cards and rent portable Wi-Fi, some of them 24 hours.
- Paying. Most of China pays by phone. Install Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly and link your own bank card; payments of 200 yuan or less usually carry no fee, and 3% above that. The airport also has ATMs, currency exchange and desks that help foreign visitors set up mobile payment. ATMs usually allow up to 3,000 yuan a withdrawal on a foreign card.
- Between terminals. A free shuttle bus runs between Terminals 1 and 2, 24 hours a day.
- Checking in. Check-in for most international flights closes 60 minutes before departure; Ethiopian Airlines closes at 90, and your airline’s own deadline is the one that counts. This guide’s rule is to be back 90 minutes before.