Metro Line 2 is the way into Shanghai on a layover: about an hour from Pudong to East Nanjing Road, by the Bund, for about 7 yuan, paid by tapping a contactless card at the gate. The last train back to the airport leaves East Nanjing Road at 10:35pm.
What's the best way from Pudong airport into Shanghai?
For most layovers, take Metro Line 2. It runs from the station between Terminals 1 and 2 to East Nanjing Road, by the Bund, in about an hour for about 7 yuan, and you pay by tapping a contactless card at the gate. The maglev reaches Longyang Road in about 8 minutes for 50 yuan, but you change to Line 2 there, and its last train back leaves at 9:40pm. Allow 90 minutes from landing to the train, and be back at the airport 90 minutes before departure.
Getting through the border
Before any train, you pass China’s border. Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) publishes no queue times, and the check takes longer than at many airports: you fill in the arrival card, register your fingerprints and, on the 240-hour transit, show your ticket on to a third country. So plan on about 90 minutes from landing to sitting on the metro. If the queue is slow, you lose time in Shanghai, not your flight: when to head back is set by your departure time. First check that you can leave: visa and transit rules.
- Save time. Fill in China’s arrival card online before you land, and have your onward booking ready on your phone or on paper.
- Bags. On one ticket they usually go straight through to your next flight. On separate tickets you collect them first. Aerotel, landside on levels 6 and 7 of Terminal 2, stores bags for people who aren’t staying, so you can leave them there and travel light (at the airport).
- Finding the train. Terminals 1 and 2 share one station, between the two buildings, for Metro Line 2 and the maglev. After arrivals, follow the signs for the metro.
The options at a glance
| Metro Line 2 | Maglev, then Line 2 | Taxi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| To | Longyang Road, Lujiazui, East Nanjing Road and People’s Square | Longyang Road, then Line 2 into the centre | Anywhere in Shanghai |
| Time | About an hour to East Nanjing Road | About 8 minutes to Longyang Road, then the metro | About 50 minutes to People’s Square |
| Single fare | About 7 yuan | 50 yuan, plus the metro | About 180 yuan to People’s Square |
| Pay with | A contactless card at the gate, or a ticket from a machine | A maglev ticket | At the taxi, or in the DiDi app |
Metro Line 2: the best option for most layovers
Line 2 starts at the airport and runs west through Longyang Road and Lujiazui, under the river, to East Nanjing Road and People’s Square, and on across the city to Hongqiao. For a layover, get off at East Nanjing Road: the Bund is a 15-minute walk away.
- Time. About an hour to People’s Square; East Nanjing Road is the stop before it. The airport is the end of the line, so you’ll usually get a seat.
- How often. Trains run through the day. This guide allows up to 10 minutes for one.
- Fare. About 7 yuan from the airport to the centre. Fares in town start at 3 yuan.
Paying. Tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB or UnionPay card on the gate: no ticket needed. Or buy a single ticket from a machine, which takes international cards. A Shanghai Public Transportation Card and Shanghai Metro’s Daduhui app also work, but for a layover a contactless card is simplest.
First and last trains. They’re the same every day:
| Every day | |
|---|---|
| First train from the airport | This guide plans on 6:30am |
| Last train back from East Nanjing Road | 10:35pm |
| Last train back from People’s Square | 10:33pm |
| Last train back from Longyang Road | 10:50pm |
Trains leave the airport from early morning, and 6:30am is this guide’s safe allowance for the first. The last trains are Shanghai Metro’s scheduled times. You need the last train only for a flight after about 1:25am; with an earlier flight, your leave-by time comes before it. On China’s public holidays, check the last train on the day.
Maglev: fast, but only to Longyang Road
The maglev, a magnetic-levitation train that reaches 300 km/h, runs from the same station to Longyang Road in about 8 minutes. There you change to Line 2 for the centre, so it saves less time than the 8 minutes suggest. It’s worth it for the ride itself if you have time to spare; no plan in this guide uses it.
- Hours. From the airport, 7:02am to 9:42pm. Back from Longyang Road, 6:45am to 9:40pm, so it can’t be your way back after an evening in town.
- Fares. 50 yuan single, 80 yuan return; 40 yuan single with a Shanghai Public Transportation Card. VIP seats cost 100 yuan single, 160 yuan return.
Taxis and DiDi
A taxi is the way back after the last train, and the easy way in with heavy bags.
- Where. Take one only from the official rank, open 24 hours: outside Arrivals Gate 12 at Terminal 1 (also Gates 4 and 8), or outside Arrivals Gate 25 at Terminal 2.
- Fare. Taxis are metered: 14 yuan for the first 3 km, then 2.7 yuan a km, with 50% more on every km beyond 15 km. From 11pm to 5am fares are 30% higher. Taxis add 10 yuan to the fare at Spring Festival, and 5 yuan over the Labour Day and National Day holidays.
- Into town. About 180 yuan and about 50 minutes to People’s Square, more in traffic.
- DiDi. China’s ride-hailing app works in English, translates your messages to the driver, and takes payment through Alipay or WeChat Pay. It needs a phone with data.
For one or two people, Line 2 is far cheaper and almost as quick. A taxi is worth it after the last train, with bags, or when you’re short of time and the queue at the border was long.
Flying on from Hongqiao (SHA)
If your next flight leaves from Shanghai’s other airport, Hongqiao, the Airport Link Line runs between the two in about 40 minutes, every 15 minutes, from Pudong between 6am and 10:15pm. Changing airports means passing the border at Pudong and checking in again at Hongqiao, so you need to be able to enter China (visa and transit rules).
Moving between terminals
A free shuttle bus runs between Terminals 1 and 2, 24 hours a day. The metro and maglev station sits between the two terminals, so you can reach it from either.
Timing your return
Be back at the airport 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass. From East Nanjing Road, leave 2 hours 50 minutes before your flight: up to 10 minutes for a train, about an hour on Line 2 and about 10 minutes to check-in, then the 90 minutes.
| Layover | Time in town |
|---|---|
| 7 hours | about 1.5 hours |
| 8 hours | about 2.5 hours |
| 10 hours | about 4.5 hours |
| 12 hours | about 6.5 hours |
The table assumes 90 minutes from landing to the train, about 70 minutes into East Nanjing Road with the wait for a train, and 80 back to check-in, from either terminal.