# Shanghai layover guide

Metro Line 2 runs from Pudong airport to East Nanjing Road, a short walk from the Bund, in about an hour for about 7 yuan, so 7 hours is enough for a first look at Shanghai. US, UK, EU, Canadian and Australian passports can leave without a visa if their next flight goes on to a third country, and Trip.com runs free half-day tours from the airport.

- Web page: https://shanghailayover.com/
- Guide: [Shanghai Layover](https://shanghailayover.com/), an independent layover guide to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), part of City Layover
- Updated 10 November 2026; facts checked 8 November 2026

## Can you leave Shanghai airport on a layover?

Yes, if your passport lets you into China and you have about 7 hours. US, UK, EU, Canadian and Australian passports can enter without a visa for up to 10 days, as long as your next flight goes on to a third country. Metro Line 2 reaches the Bund area in about an hour for about 7 yuan. Indian passports need a visa to leave. With less time, stay past security on a through ticket: there's no border check, and there are sleep pods.

## Every layover length

- **Under 7 hours** (Stay airside): Stay at the airport. Between the border, the metro both ways and being back 90 minutes before your flight, under 7 hours leaves too little time in town. On a through ticket you change planes past security with no border check, and can rest in a sleep pod.
- **7 to 8.5 hours** (Possible but tight): About 1.5 to 2.5 hours in town: enough to ride Metro Line 2 to East Nanjing Road and walk down to the Bund, the riverside promenade that faces the Pudong skyline.
- **8.5 to 12 hours** (Go into Shanghai): About 3 to 6 hours in town: time for the Bund and the Yu Garden, a classical Chinese garden that's closed on Mondays. Trip.com's free guided tours from the airport, at 9am and 6pm, are the easy alternative.
- **12 to 24 hours** (Go into Shanghai): Most of a day in town: the Bund and the Yu Garden at an easy pace. Landing at night? Rest at the airport, then be at the Yu Garden when it opens at 9am.
- **Over 24 hours** (Go into Shanghai): Past 24 hours you can't stay airside, so you'll enter China and need a hotel. US, UK, EU, Canadian and Australian passports can stay up to 10 days without a visa, with an onward ticket to a third country.

**Landing late at night:** The first Metro Line 2 metro from the airport leaves about 6:30am and the last one back from East Nanjing Road about 10:35pm. Outside those hours, a taxi takes about 60 minutes, about 180 yuan from People's Square, 30% more from 11pm to 5am. If no plan into Shanghai fits around those hours, the verdict is to sleep near the airport.

## Time in town

Worked out with this guide’s allowances: about 1h 30 from landing to a metro, the ride each way, and back at Pudong 90 minutes before departure.

| Layover | In town, about | On the plan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 7 hours | 1.5 hours | The Bund and Nanjing Road |
| 8 hours | 2.5 hours | The Bund and Nanjing Road |
| 10 hours | 4.5 hours | The Bund and Nanjing Road |
| 12 hours | 6.5 hours | The Bund and Nanjing Road |

## Layover plans

Every plan on the overview, in the order it lists them. On the web page each plan's route is timed from your layover length and landing time.

### The Bund and Nanjing Road

- **Hint**: Quickest, on one metro line
- **Layover**: 7 hours or more
- **Cost**: $
- **Ride**: Metro Line 2, about 70 minutes there; leave town 2 hours 50 minutes before your flight

1. **Walk down Nanjing Road to the Bund**: About 15 minutes on foot from East Nanjing Road station, along the pedestrian shopping street.
2. **The Bund promenade**: Free and open all day, with the Pudong skyline across the Huangpu River.
3. **Walk back to East Nanjing Road station**
4. **East Nanjing Road station**

### Yu Garden and the Bund

- **Hint**: Classic first visit, Tuesday to Sunday
- **Layover**: 8.5 hours or more · Tue to Sun
- **Cost**: $
- **Ride**: Metro Line 2, about 70 minutes there; leave town 2 hours 50 minutes before your flight

1. **Walk down Nanjing Road to the Bund**
2. **The Bund promenade**
3. **Walk to the Yu Garden**: About 25 minutes on foot, south along the river and into the old town.
4. **Yu Garden**: 40 yuan until 30 November, 30 yuan from 1 December to 31 March; 9am to 4:30pm, last entry 4pm, closed on Mondays.
5. **Walk back to East Nanjing Road station**
6. **East Nanjing Road station**

### Free Highlights half-day tour: Yu Garden and the Bund

- **Hint**: Free, with a guide; land by about 6:45am
- **Layover**: 9 hours or more
- **Cost**: $
- **Tour**: about 5 hours, back to Pudong at least 1 hour 30 minutes before your flight; starts 9am; meet 30 minutes before the start at the Shanghai Tourist Information & Service Store, 1st floor International Arrival Hall, Terminal 1, between Gates 6 and 7; the earliest start you can make is 2 hours 15 minutes after landing

1. **Yu Garden**: Entry, transport, a guide and internet access are included; meals aren't.
2. **The Bund**

### Free Huangpu River cruise night tour

- **Hint**: Free, evening; land by about 3:45pm
- **Layover**: 9 hours or more
- **Cost**: $
- **Tour**: about 5 hours, back to Pudong at least 1 hour 30 minutes before your flight; starts 6pm; meet 30 minutes before the start at the Shanghai Tourist Information & Service Store, 1st floor International Arrival Hall, Terminal 1, between Gates 6 and 7; the earliest start you can make is 2 hours 15 minutes after landing

1. **Huangpu River cruise**
2. **Yu Garden**: The garden's own hours end at 4:30pm, so ask at the counter what the evening visit includes.

### Rest at the airport, then the Bund and the Yu Garden at opening

- **Hint**: For night arrivals, Tuesday to Sunday
- **Layover**: 14 hours or more · Tue to Sun · overnight
- **Cost**: $$
- **Night**: rest near the airport, then head in for the morning
- **Ride**: Metro Line 2, about 70 minutes there; leave town 2 hours 50 minutes before your flight

1. **Walk down Nanjing Road to the Bund**
2. **The Bund promenade**: Open all day, so an early start is no problem.
3. **Walk to the Yu Garden**
4. **Yu Garden**: Opens at 9am, closed on Mondays.
5. **Walk back to East Nanjing Road station**
6. **East Nanjing Road station**

### Free rest areas and showers

- **Hint**: Free, no booking
- **Where**: Airside

- **Rest areas and free showers in the terminals**: Sofa seating and free 24-hour showers for passengers changing planes; ask at a transfer or information desk for the nearest.

### Sleep pods in international departures

- **Hint**: Private cabin, no booking
- **Where**: Airside
- **Cost**: $$

- **Sleep pods, Terminal 1, near Gates 25 and 26**: 15 cabins, open 24 hours: 35 yuan for 30 minutes, 65 yuan for an hour, 299 yuan for 8 hours.
- **Sleep pods, Terminal 2, near Gate 64**: 15 more cabins at the same prices.

### Aerotel, Terminal 2, before passport control

- **Hint**: Hourly rooms, showers, luggage storage
- **Where**: Landside · needs China entry

- **Aerotel Shanghai Pudong Airport, Terminal 2, levels 6 and 7**: Hourly rooms before passport control, so you need to be able to enter China; it also stores bags and sells showers to people who aren't staying.

### Holiday Inn, a covered walk from Terminals 1 and 2

- **Hint**: A full night before an early flight
- **Where**: Landside · needs China entry

- **Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Airport**: Beside the airport, linked to Terminals 1 and 2 by a covered walkway. It's before passport control, so you need to be able to enter China.

## At a glance

- **Airport**: Shanghai Pudong International (PVG)
- **Line 2 to East Nanjing Road**: About an hour, about 7 yuan
- **Last ride back**: 10:35pm from East Nanjing Road, every day
- **Minimum to leave**: About 7 hours
- **Be back**: 90 minutes before departure, boarding pass in hand
- **Sleep airside**: Sleep pods, 35 yuan for 30 minutes to 299 yuan for 8 hours
- **Currency**: Chinese yuan (CNY)
- **Paying**: Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to your own card; contactless cards at metro gates
- **Don't forget**: An onward ticket to a third country, to enter without a visa

## Arrivals

A Shanghai layover is worth leaving the airport for if you have about 7 hours and a passport China lets in without a visa.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) is about 30 km from the city centre. Metro Line 2 starts at the station between Terminals 1 and 2 and runs to East Nanjing Road, a short walk from the Bund, in about an hour. With 90 minutes to get through China's border, the train both ways and 90 minutes back at the airport before your flight, about 5.5 hours of any trip go on getting there and back, which is why a Shanghai layover needs at least 7.

- **Bags.** On one ticket, your checked bags usually go straight through to your next flight, so you leave with only your hand luggage. On separate tickets you collect them and pass the border whatever you'd planned. Aerotel, the hotel on levels 6 and 7 of Terminal 2, stores bags for people who aren't staying; ask there for the price.
- **Paying.** Most of China pays by phone. Before you fly, install Alipay or WeChat Pay and link your own bank card: it works without a Chinese bank account, and payments of 200 yuan or less usually carry no fee (3% above that). For the metro you can simply tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB or UnionPay card at the gates. Carry a little cash too: ATMs take foreign cards, usually up to 3,000 yuan a withdrawal, and the airport has them.
- **Phone.** The airport's Wi-Fi is free: log in with a photo of your passport. Many foreign apps, Google's and WhatsApp among them, don't work on China's networks, so download an offline map before you fly and ask your mobile provider or eSIM seller what will work in China.

Paying for the metro, and what to do with bags: [getting into the city](https://shanghailayover.com/getting-to-the-city/).

## Border

Most passports from Europe, North America and Australia can leave Pudong without a visa, as long as your next flight goes on to a third country.

- **US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia.** China's 240-hour visa-free transit lets you in for up to 10 days if you hold a ticket, with a confirmed seat and date, on to a third country or region: anywhere but the country you flew in from. Hong Kong counts. Your passport needs at least 3 months left. It's free, and there's nothing to apply for.
- **The 30-day list.** UK, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and many EU passports can also enter for up to 30 days, whatever their next flight, until 31 December 2026. The US isn't on that list. On a layover you're covered by the 240-hour rule either way, and it has no end date.
- **India and other passports.** India isn't on either list, so leaving the airport needs a Chinese visa, applied for before you travel.
- **Staying airside.** On a through ticket to another country, leaving within 24 hours, you change planes past security with no border check, and need nothing whatever your passport.
- **Time.** Allow 90 minutes from landing to the train. At the border you fill in China's arrival card (online before you land saves time), have your fingerprints taken and show your onward booking. If the queue is slow, you lose time in Shanghai, not your flight: when to head back is set by your departure time.

Who needs which document, and what happens after 2026: [visa and transit rules](https://shanghailayover.com/visa-and-transit/).

## Into Shanghai

Take Metro Line 2 from the airport: about an hour to East Nanjing Road, by the Bund, for about 7 yuan.

| Ride | Into town | Fare |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Metro Line 2 to East Nanjing Road | About an hour | About 7 yuan |
| Maglev to Longyang Road, then Line 2 | About 8 minutes on the maglev, then the metro | 50 yuan, plus the metro |
| Taxi to People's Square | About 50 minutes | About 180 yuan |

The maglev is quicker, but it only goes as far as Longyang Road, where you change to Line 2 for the centre, and its last train back leaves at 9:40pm. Every plan in this guide uses Line 2 both ways.

Trains leave the airport from early morning; this guide plans on the first at 6:30am. The last train back to the airport leaves East Nanjing Road at 10:35pm and People's Square at 10:33pm, every day. You need it only for a flight after about 1:25am; with an earlier flight, your leave-by time comes before it. The airport is the end of the line, so you'll usually get a seat on the way in.

Every way in, paying and taxis: [getting into the city](https://shanghailayover.com/getting-to-the-city/).

## What to do

The Bund, Shanghai's riverfront, is a 15-minute walk from East Nanjing Road station, and the Yu Garden is 25 minutes further on foot.

### The fastest plan for a short layover

1. Clear the border and follow the signs for Metro Line 2 to the station between Terminals 1 and 2.
2. Ride to **East Nanjing Road**: about an hour.
3. Walk about 15 minutes along Nanjing Road to **the Bund**, the riverside promenade that faces Pudong's skyline across the Huangpu River. It's free and open all day.
4. Leave East Nanjing Road station 2 hours 50 minutes before your flight. That covers the wait for a train, the ride, the walk to check-in and 90 minutes at the airport.

It needs about 7 hours, which gives you about 1.5 hours in town.

Prefer a guide? Trip.com runs free half-day tours from Pudong for international transit passengers, with transport, a guide and tickets included: the Yu Garden and the Bund from 9am to 2pm, or a Huangpu River cruise from 6pm to 11pm. There's no booking: sign up in person at the tourist information counter in Terminal 1's arrivals hall, between Gates 6 and 7, at least 30 minutes before the start. With the border and the 90 minutes back at the airport, plan on 9 hours: land by about 6:45am for the morning tour or 3:45pm for the evening one. For a landing at another time, a private layover tour from the airport is the alternative.

### Watch the calendar

- **Mondays.** The Yu Garden is closed, except on public holidays. The Bund and Nanjing Road plan works every day. The free tours' terms don't say what replaces the garden on a Monday, so ask at the counter.
- **Public holidays.** China's 2027 holidays are New Year (1 to 3 January), Spring Festival (5 to 13 February), Qingming (3 to 5 April), Labour Day (1 to 5 May), Dragon Boat (9 June), Mid-Autumn (15 September) and National Day (1 to 7 October). The Yu Garden opens on a holiday Monday and sets its own Spring Festival hours, and taxis add 10 yuan to the fare at Spring Festival and 5 yuan over Labour Day and National Day. Check Line 2's last train on the day.
- **After 31 December 2026.** The 30-day visa-free entry ends unless China extends it. The 240-hour transit carries on, so a layover is still covered if your next flight goes on to a third country.

Our [itineraries](https://shanghailayover.com/itineraries/) give timed plans from 7 hours, the free tours with how to join them, an overnight plan and places to rest at the airport.

## Head back

Be back at Pudong airport 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass.

- **Time.** With 90 minutes to get out, the metro both ways and 90 minutes at the end, a 7-hour layover leaves about 1.5 hours in town, 8.5 hours about 3, 10 hours about 4.5 and 12 hours about 6.5. Leave East Nanjing Road 2 hours 50 minutes before your flight.
- **Why 90 minutes.** If you're already checked in, you pass China's exit border check and security, then walk to your gate. If you still need to check in or drop a bag, check your airline's deadline: most close check-in 60 minutes before an international departure, but Ethiopian Airlines closes at 90, so come back earlier for it.
- **Tours.** Trip.com's tours end back at the airport: at 2pm for the morning tour, so your flight should leave at 3:30pm or later, and at 11pm for the evening tour, so 12:30am or later.
- **Late at night.** The last Line 2 train leaves East Nanjing Road at 10:35pm. If you miss it, only a taxi will get you back: about 180 yuan and about 50 minutes from People's Square, with 30% more from 11pm to 5am. DiDi, China's ride-hailing app, works in English and takes Alipay or WeChat Pay.

Time in town at each layover length: [how much time you'll have](https://shanghailayover.com/getting-to-the-city/#timing-your-return).

## Departures

On a through ticket you can rest past security with no border check, though there's no hotel on that side.

- **Sleep pods.** 30 cabins in the international departure areas, 15 in Terminal 1 near Gates 25 and 26 and 15 in Terminal 2 near Gate 64, open 24 hours: 35 yuan for 30 minutes, 65 yuan for an hour and 299 yuan for 8 hours (seen November 2026). There's no booking, so it's first come, first served. Pay at the door with Alipay or WeChat Pay, or with a foreign card at the counter nearby.
- **Free rest areas and showers.** The airport has sofa seating, rest cabins and free 24-hour showers for passengers changing planes; ask at a transfer or information desk for the nearest.
- **Aerotel.** Hourly rooms on levels 6 and 7 of Terminal 2, before passport control. You need to be able to enter China to use it, so it suits a night landing before a morning in town, or separate tickets. The Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Airport, a covered walk from Terminals 1 and 2, is the other hotel you can reach on foot, also before passport control.

Rooms, showers, Wi-Fi and left luggage: [at the airport](https://shanghailayover.com/airport/).

## Questions people ask

### Can I leave Shanghai airport during a layover?

Yes, with about 7 hours and a passport China lets in. US, UK, EU, Canadian and Australian passports can enter without a visa for up to 10 days under China's 240-hour transit rule, as long as your next flight goes on to a third country, not back to the one you came from. Indian passports need a visa. If you stay past security on a through ticket, you need nothing at all.

### How long a layover do I need to see Shanghai?

About 7 hours, which leaves about 1.5 hours at the Bund once you allow 90 minutes to get through the border, about an hour on Metro Line 2 each way and 90 minutes back at the airport. The Bund and the Yu Garden together need about 8.5 hours, and Trip.com's free half-day tours about 9.

### What time is the last train back to Shanghai Pudong airport?

The last Metro Line 2 train back to the airport leaves East Nanjing Road at 10:35pm and People's Square at 10:33pm, every day. You need it only for a flight after about 1:25am; with an earlier flight, your leave-by time comes before it. If you miss it, take a taxi, about 180 yuan from People's Square, with 30% more from 11pm to 5am.

### Can I sleep at Shanghai airport?

Yes. On a through ticket you can stay past security, where 30 sleep pods in the international departure areas cost 35 yuan for 30 minutes to 299 yuan for 8 hours (seen November 2026), first come, first served. There's no hotel past security. Aerotel's hourly rooms in Terminal 2 are before passport control, so you need to be able to enter China to use them.

### Is there a free tour for layover passengers at Shanghai Pudong?

Yes. Trip.com runs free half-day tours for international transit passengers; with the border and the 90 minutes back at the airport, plan on a layover of at least 9 hours. They cover the Yu Garden and the Bund from 9am to 2pm, a citywalk from 10am to 4pm, and a Huangpu River cruise from 6pm to 11pm. Sign up in person at the tourist information counter in Terminal 1's arrivals hall, between Gates 6 and 7. You need to be able to enter China, and it's worth emailing shanghaiexpress@trip.com before you fly to check the tours are running.

## Sources (checked 8 November 2026)

- [National Immigration Administration: visa-free transit policies (24-hour rule, 240-hour list; page of 20 Aug 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147418/n147463/c183412/content.html)
- [National Immigration Administration: notice of 12 Jan 2024 on border-inspection exemption for 24-hour transit (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147413/c160935/content.html)
- [National Immigration Administration: notice of 3 Nov 2025 on the 240-hour policy, passport validity and the arrival card (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147413/c187308/content.html)
- [National Immigration Administration: unilateral visa-free countries (list as of 17 Feb 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147418/n147463/c183390/content.html)
- [Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 30-day visa-free entry for Canada and the UK until 31 Dec 2026 (15 Feb 2026, checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng./xw/fyrbt/fyrbt/202602/t20260215_11860467.html)
- [Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles: 30-day visa-free entry extended to 31 Dec 2026 for Australia, New Zealand, most of Europe and others (4 Nov 2025, checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://losangeles.china-consulate.gov.cn/eng/visa/chinavisa/202511/t20251104_11746357.htm)
- [Shanghai Municipal People's Government: visa-free transit, no airside hotels and sleep pods (3 Sep 2026, checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Visafreetransit/20260903/6fe4653a8b7447ba86fcf0c883db0143.html)
- [Shanghai Municipal People's Government: getting from the airports to the city, Line 2 and taxi (updated 4 Jun 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Transportation/20231214/649e06ea38f74aaeb573fa2debbe97d3.html)
- [Shanghai Municipal People's Government: Line 2 first and last trains at interchange stations (13 Jan 2026, checked 9 Nov 2026)](https://www.shanghai.gov.cn/nw17239/20260113/4974c8b0add34af4af5fe946bba6cdfc.html)
- [Shanghai Municipal People's Government: metro fares and paying with foreign cards (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Transportation/20240102/44f499a17b324b25996f2d58fcbf5f23.html)
- [Shanghai Airport Authority: maglev (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.shanghaiairport.com/ensh/cxf/index.html)
- [Shanghai Airport Authority: check-in deadlines (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://www.shanghaiairport.com/ensh/jzsj/index.html)
- [Shanghai Airport Authority: taxis (page updated 16 Apr 2024, checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.shanghaiairport.com/ensh/czc/index.html)
- [Shanghai Airport Authority: free Wi-Fi (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.shanghaiairport.com/enpd/fuwusheshi/index_lcid_418.html)
- [Official Shanghai tourism: sleep cabins at Pudong Airport (1 Mar 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.meet-in-shanghai.net/en/news/pudong-airport-details-sleep-cabin-guide-for-international-travelers-590365/)
- [Shanghai Municipal People's Government: layover facilities and free tours (7 Aug 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Latest-WhatsNew/20260807/8797f93e18e24e86ad35f46e1202dbea.html)
- [Aerotel: Shanghai Pudong Airport factsheet (25 Jun 2025, checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.myaerotel.com/MyAerotel/media/assets/City/Mainland%20China/Shanghai/Factsheet/Aerotel-Factsheet_PVG_0625_EN-1-1.pdf)
- [IHG: Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Airport, covered walkway to Terminals 1 and 2 (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/shanghai/shapt/hoteldetail)
- [Trip.com: Shanghai Express free layover tours (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://www.trip.com/mkt/w/halfday/shanghai?locale=en-US&wkp=1&_form=fp)
- [Yu Garden: opening hours and tickets (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.yugarden.com.cn/page/articleview/message.html)
- [Official Shanghai tourism: the Bund (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.meet-in-shanghai.net/en/nighttime-culture/bund-sightseeing-area-026252/)
- [State Council General Office: public holidays in 2027 (notice of 5 Nov 2026, checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/202611/content_7085101.htm)
- [Shanghai Municipal People's Government: paying with overseas cards (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Individuals-BankingandPayments-Payments/20260921/c2c94d06a0454c8fa05386b80d0ae865.html)
- [Airalo: China eSIM (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.airalo.com/china-esim)