# What to do on a Shanghai layover

Metro Line 2 takes you from Pudong to East Nanjing Road, a 15-minute walk from the Bund, in about an hour. The Yu Garden is 25 minutes on foot from the Bund, and Trip.com's free half-day tours from the airport cover both.

- Web page: https://shanghailayover.com/itineraries/
- 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

## How much of Shanghai can you see on a layover?

With 7 hours, ride Metro Line 2 to East Nanjing Road and walk to the Bund, the riverside promenade facing the Pudong skyline. With 8.5 hours, add the Yu Garden, a classical Chinese garden that's closed on Mondays. With 9 hours and a landing by about 6:45am or 3:45pm, Trip.com's free guided tours take you from the airport instead. Be back at Pudong 90 minutes before departure.

## At a glance

- **The Bund**: Free, open all day; 15 min on foot from East Nanjing Road
- **Yu Garden**: 30 or 40 yuan by season; 9am to 4:30pm, closed Mondays
- **Free half-day tours**: Start at 9am, 10am or 6pm; sign up at Terminal 1 arrivals
- **Metro Line 2**: About an hour each way, about 7 yuan
- **Sleep pods**: 35 yuan for 30 minutes to 299 yuan for 8 hours

Every plan below starts and ends at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG). Each allows 90 minutes from landing to the Metro Line 2 train, about an hour on the train each way with the wait for one, and being back at the airport 90 minutes before departure. First make sure you can leave the airport: [visa and transit rules](https://shanghailayover.com/visa-and-transit/).

Then check the day. The Yu Garden is closed on Mondays, except on public holidays; the Bund is open every day and all day. The walks between the station and the sights are this guide's allowances from a map.

## 7 to 8.5 hours: the Bund and Nanjing Road

At 7 hours you'll have about 1.5 hours in town, and at 8 hours about 2.5.

### The Bund and Nanjing Road

The quickest plan in this guide: one metro line, no tickets to buy and nothing that closes, so it works on any day and at any hour the trains run. The Bund is the riverside promenade lined with Shanghai's old banks and trading houses, facing the towers of Pudong across the Huangpu River.

1. Take Metro Line 2 from the station between Terminals 1 and 2 to **East Nanjing Road**: about an hour.
2. Walk about 15 minutes east along **Nanjing Road**, the pedestrian shopping street, to the river.
3. Spend about 45 minutes on **the Bund**: walk the promenade and look across to the Pudong skyline.
4. Walk back to East Nanjing Road station.

**Leave by.** Leave East Nanjing Road station 2 hours 50 minutes before departure.

**Pick your time.** The Bund has no opening hours, so a landing in the afternoon or evening works as well as a morning one, up to the last train back, at 10:35pm. After dark the old buildings along the river are floodlit.

**Fare.** About 7 yuan each way on Line 2: tap a contactless card at the gate.

## 8.5 to 12 hours: the Yu Garden and the Bund

At 8.5 hours you'll have about 3 hours in town, at 10 hours about 4.5 and at 12 hours about 6.5.

### Yu Garden and the Bund

The two sights most first-time visitors come for, 25 minutes apart on foot: the Bund, then the Yu Garden, a classical Chinese garden of pavilions, rockeries and ponds in the old town. It suits a daytime landing from Tuesday to Sunday.

1. Take Metro Line 2 to **East Nanjing Road**, about an hour, and walk about 15 minutes down Nanjing Road to **the Bund**.
2. Walk the promenade for about 30 minutes.
3. Walk about 25 minutes south to the **Yu Garden**, and allow about an hour inside.
4. Walk about 30 minutes back to East Nanjing Road station.

**Opening hours.** The Yu Garden opens 9am to 4:30pm, with last entry at 4pm, and is closed on Mondays, except on public holidays. Over Spring Festival it sets its own hours. You reach the garden about 3 hours 50 minutes after landing, so a landing from about 5:10am gets you there for the 9am opening, and a landing by about 11:40am still gives you an hour inside.

**Tickets.** Adults pay 40 yuan from 1 September to 30 November and from 1 April to 30 June, and 30 yuan from 1 December to 31 March and in July and August. Children aged 6 or under, or up to 1.3 metres tall, go free with an adult; students and over-60s pay half.

**On a Monday.** Take the Bund and Nanjing Road plan instead, and spend the extra time on the promenade or the shopping street.

**Leave by.** Leave East Nanjing Road station 2 hours 50 minutes before departure.

## Trip.com's free half-day tours

Trip.com runs free guided tours from Pudong for international transit passengers on a long layover. A guide takes you from the airport and brings you back, with entry tickets, transport and internet access included.

| Tour | Time | Where | Layover you need | Price |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Highlights Half-Day City Tour | 9am to 2pm | The Yu Garden and the Bund | 9 hours, landing by about 6:45am | Free |
| Local Lifestyle Citywalk Tour | 10am to 4pm | Wukang Road and Wuzhong Market, People's Square, East Nanjing Road, the Bund | 10 hours, landing by about 7:45am | Free |
| Huangpu River Cruise Night Tour | 6pm to 11pm | A Huangpu River cruise and the Yu Garden | 9 hours, landing by about 3:45pm | Free |

This guide's figures allow 90 minutes for the border, the walk to the Terminal 1 counter, half an hour there, the 5 or 6 hours of the tour and 90 minutes at the airport before you fly. So you need about 9 hours, more than the tours' own minimum.

**How to join.** There's no booking: sign up in person at the Shanghai Tourist Information & Service Store in the international arrivals hall on the first floor of Terminal 1, between Gates 6 and 7, near the Lawson convenience store. Get there 30 to 60 minutes before the start, with your passport; you sign the tour's terms before you join. Each tour takes at most 10 people, first come, first served, and latecomers can't join. Landing at Terminal 2? The free shuttle bus between the terminals runs 24 hours.

**Before you fly, check.** The tours have no set end date, but don't rely on one unchecked: email shanghaiexpress@trip.com a few days ahead to check your tour is running on your date, and on a Monday ask what replaces the Yu Garden, which is closed that day.

**Who can go.** You must be able to enter China, on the 240-hour transit, the 30-day entry or a visa. Meals aren't included, so eat at the airport first. Under-18s, over-70s and pregnant travellers sign an extra disclaimer.

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

The easiest way to see Shanghai's two best-known sights: someone else handles the transport and the tickets.

1. Be at the counter in Terminal 1 arrivals by 8:30am, with your passport.
2. Visit the **Yu Garden**, entry included.
3. Walk **the Bund**, then ride back to the airport by 2pm.

**Layover needed.** 9 hours, landing by about 6:45am and flying from 3:30pm.

### Free Huangpu River cruise night tour

Shanghai after dark, from the water: a cruise on the Huangpu River past the Bund and Pudong's towers, then the Yu Garden.

1. Be at the counter in Terminal 1 arrivals by 5:30pm.
2. Cruise the **Huangpu River**.
3. Visit the **Yu Garden** area. The garden's own hours end at 4:30pm, so ask at the counter what the evening visit includes. Back at the airport by 11pm.

**Layover needed.** 9 hours, landing by about 3:45pm and flying from 12:30am.

## Overnight: rest at the airport, then the Bund and the Yu Garden

Landing at night, rest at the airport, then see the Bund early in the morning and be at the Yu Garden when it opens.

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

1. Clear the border when you land, then rest at **Aerotel**, the hotel on levels 6 and 7 of Terminal 2, which rents rooms by the hour; book ahead.
2. Take Metro Line 2 to East Nanjing Road; this guide plans on the first train from the airport at 6:30am.
3. Walk down Nanjing Road to **the Bund** at about 8am, then on to the **Yu Garden** for its 9am opening, and allow about an hour inside.
4. Walk back to East Nanjing Road station.

**Earliest flight.** Out of the garden at about 10am and back at East Nanjing Road by about 10:30am, you can fly from about 1:20pm. It needs a layover of about 14 hours from a landing at about 11:30pm. Not on Mondays, when the garden is closed: spend the morning on the Bund and Nanjing Road instead.

## 24 hours

With a full day, do the Bund and the Yu Garden at an easy pace, then stay into the evening, when the Bund is floodlit. Or join Trip.com's free 9am tour, back at the airport by 2pm, and take Line 2 into town again for the evening on your own.

For a museum, go to Shanghai Museum East in Pudong, which holds the Shanghai Museum's permanent galleries until November 2027 (the older building at People's Square is showing a single exhibition until then). It's by Shanghai Science and Technology Museum station, exit 8, on Line 2 between Lujiazui and Longyang Road, so it fits on the way back to the airport. It opens 10am to 6pm, with last entry at 5pm, and is closed on Tuesdays, except on public holidays. There's no need to book: show your passport at the door. Bags go through security, and there are lockers.

Past 24 hours you can't stay airside, so you'll enter China and need a hotel; see the [visa and transit rules](https://shanghailayover.com/visa-and-transit/).

## Rest at the airport

On a through ticket you can rest past security with no border check, but there's no hotel on that side. The free rest areas cost nothing; the sleep pods are the most private; Aerotel and the Holiday Inn have proper rooms, but both are before passport control.

### Free rest areas and showers

Pudong has rest areas with sofa seating, private rest cabins and free 24-hour showers for passengers changing planes. Ask at a transfer or information desk for the nearest to your gate.

### Sleep pods in international departures

Thirty sleep cabins in the international departure areas, open 24 hours: 15 in Terminal 1 near Gates 25 and 26, and 15 in Terminal 2 near Gate 64. They cost 35 yuan for 30 minutes, 65 yuan for an hour, 95 yuan for 90 minutes 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, in yuan cash, or with a foreign card at the counter nearby, where staff open the cabin for you. A child under 12 and under 1.4 metres can share a cabin with one adult.

### Aerotel, Terminal 2, before passport control

Aerotel has 82 rooms on levels 6 and 7 of Terminal 2, rented by the hour; book ahead. It's before passport control, so you need to be able to enter China to use it: it suits a night landing before a morning in town, or separate tickets. People who aren't staying can pay for a shower, the lounge or luggage storage there. From the metro station, follow the signs to Terminal 2's check-in hall, go behind check-in counter G to the food court on level 4, then take the lift to level 6.

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

The Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Airport stands beside the airport, linked to Terminals 1 and 2 by a covered walkway. Like Aerotel it's before passport control, so you need to be able to enter China. It suits a full night before an early flight, or separate tickets.

## Tips that make a Shanghai layover easier

- **Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly**, and link your own bank card: most of China pays by phone, and payments of 200 yuan or less usually carry no fee.
- **Tap a contactless card on the metro.** Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB and UnionPay all work at the gates.
- **Download an offline map.** Many foreign apps, Google's and WhatsApp among them, don't work on China's networks.
- **Mind Mondays.** The Yu Garden is closed; the Bund is open every day.
- **Check the free tours by email** before you fly, at shanghaiexpress@trip.com, and get to the counter early: there's no booking and only 10 places.
- **Keep your passport on you.** The free tours ask to see it, and so does a hotel.

## Questions people ask

### What can I see in Shanghai on an 8-hour layover?

The Bund and Nanjing Road. At 8 hours you'll have about 2.5 hours in town: ride Metro Line 2 to East Nanjing Road, about an hour, walk 15 minutes down Nanjing Road to the Bund, and leave the station again 2 hours 50 minutes before your flight. Adding the Yu Garden needs about 8.5 hours, and Trip.com's free half-day tours about 9.

### How long a layover do I need for the free Shanghai transit tour?

Plan on 9 hours. The tours' own minimum is shorter, but with 90 minutes to get through the border and 90 minutes back before your flight, 9 hours is what a 5-hour tour needs. For the 9am tour, land by about 6:45am and fly from 3:30pm; for the 6pm tour, land by about 3:45pm and fly from 12:30am. Sign up in person at the tourist information counter in Terminal 1's arrivals hall, between Gates 6 and 7.

### Is the Yu Garden open on Mondays?

No, it's closed every Monday except public holidays. It opens 9am to 4:30pm the rest of the week, with last entry at 4pm. On a Monday, the Bund and Nanjing Road plan works instead: the Bund is free and open all day.

### Can I take children into Shanghai on a layover?

Yes, if they can enter China too. The Bund plan is the easiest: free, outdoors and one metro line from the airport. At the Yu Garden, children aged 6 or under, or up to 1.3 metres tall, go free with an adult. On Trip.com's free tours, under-18s need an extra disclaimer signed.

### What can I do with my luggage while I see Shanghai?

Leave it at the airport. On one ticket your checked bags go straight through; on separate tickets, Aerotel, landside on levels 6 and 7 of Terminal 2, stores bags for people who aren't staying, so ask there for the price. Then travel into town with just a day bag.

## Sources (checked 8 November 2026)

- [Yu Garden: opening hours and tickets (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.yugarden.com.cn/page/articleview/message.html)
- [Official Shanghai tourism: Yu Garden (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.meet-in-shanghai.net/en/tourist-attraction/yuyuan-garden-998246/)
- [Official Shanghai tourism: the Bund (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.meet-in-shanghai.net/en/nighttime-culture/bund-sightseeing-area-026252/)
- [Shanghai Museum: visiting Shanghai Museum East (opening times, no booking, metro; checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://www.shanghaimuseum.net/mu/frontend/pg/m/en/service/visit-east)
- [Shanghai Museum: the People's Square museum, one exhibition until 14 Nov 2027 (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://www.shanghaimuseum.net/mu/frontend/pg/m/en/service/visit-west)
- [Trip.com: Shanghai Express free layover tours (tour times and terms, checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.trip.com/mkt/w/halfday/shanghai?locale=en-US&wkp=1&_form=fp)
- [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)
- [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 Municipal People's Government: paying with overseas cards (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Individuals-BankingandPayments-Payments/20260921/c2c94d06a0454c8fa05386b80d0ae865.html)
- [Shanghai Airport Authority: check-in deadlines (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.shanghaiairport.com/ensh/jzsj/index.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/)
- [China Daily: Pudong Airport rest areas and showers (1 Jul 2025, checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202507/01/WS6863c5c9a31000e9a5739984.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)
- [Shanghai Municipal People's Government: visa-free transit, no airside hotels and sleep pods (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Visafreetransit/20260903/6fe4653a8b7447ba86fcf0c883db0143.html)