Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG)

Pudong or Hongqiao: which Shanghai airport?

Shanghai has two airports, and “Shanghai” on a ticket can mean either. Pudong (PVG) handles most international flights and sits about 30 km east of the centre. Hongqiao (SHA) is mainly domestic and much closer in, on the west side of the city.

	Pudong (PVG)	Hongqiao (SHA)
Main role	Most international flights, plus domestic	Mainly domestic
Where	About 30 km east of the centre	West side, much closer in
Rail links	Maglev, Metro Line 2, Airport Link Line	Metro Lines 2 and 10, Airport Link Line, Hongqiao Railway Station
Between the two	Airport Link Line, about 40 minutes	Same line, the other way

A long-haul flight from abroad almost always lands at Pudong. The three-letter code on your boarding pass settles it, and the Hongqiao (SHA) guide covers the other airport.

Terminals: which one is your airline in?

PVG has two terminal buildings, T1 and T2, with a transport hub between them where the Maglev, Metro Line 2 and the Airport Link Line all have their airport stations. The airport’s own airline list splits them like this:

• Terminal 1: China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines, plus China United, Air France, KLM, Delta, Korean Air, Japan Airlines, China Airlines, Asiana and Vietnam Airlines.
• Terminal 2: the other 74 airlines. That includes Air China, China Southern, Hainan, Xiamen, Sichuan, Juneyao and Spring, and most foreign carriers: Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, British Airways, Finnair, Turkish, Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, ANA, Thai, Air New Zealand, Air Canada, United, American and Ethiopian among them.

Allocations change, so check your booking or the airport’s list before you head back. Some gates are in the satellite concourses, reached by an airside train, so allow extra time once you are through security.

Transiting at PVG: which path are you on?

What happens after you land depends on two things: whether your bags are checked through to your final destination, and whether you want to leave the airport. The airport says through check-in is only available on some airlines’ specific routes, so ask your airline when you book rather than at the gate.

Your situation	What you do at PVG	Entry permission needed?
International to international, bags checked through, staying airside	Follow the transfer signs to the transfer security check, then to your gate	No: airside transit needs no visa
International to international, bags not checked through	Clear immigration, collect your bags, check in again	Yes
International to domestic	Clear immigration and customs at PVG, then connect as a domestic passenger	Yes
Leaving the airport between flights	Clear immigration at the visa-free transit counter or lane	Yes
Connecting to a Hongqiao flight	Clear immigration at PVG, then take the Airport Link Line	Yes

“Entry permission” means one of four things:

1. 240-hour visa-free transit, if your passport is one of the 57 eligible countries and your onward ticket goes to a third country or region within 240 hours.
2. 30-day visa-free entry, where your nationality qualifies.
3. A 24-hour temporary entry permit, requested at the transit counter and usually granted for a genuine short stop with an onward ticket.
4. A visa.

The eligibility checker tells you which applies, and 24-hour vs 240-hour transit explains the difference. PVG is a designated 240-hour port: the permitted area is Shanghai, and cross-province travel into the other participating provinces’ permitted areas is allowed. The 65 ports and permitted areas reference has the detail.

Budget for getting through arrivals. In our experience, getting from the plane through immigration takes about 30 minutes when it is quiet and over an hour when it is busy, usually in the evening, when several long-haul flights land close together. With checked bags to collect, allow at least 45 minutes even on a quiet day. The visa-free transit lane also moves more slowly than the regular one, because officers check your onward itinerary. If you plan to see the city, things to do in Shanghai on a layover plans each window.

The Maglev: timetable, fares and when to skip it

The Maglev runs between the airport and Longyang Road in about 8 minutes, at up to 300 km/h. It is the fastest way into the city, with two catches: it stops early, and Longyang Road is on the Pudong side of the river, so most trips carry on by Metro Line 2.

Timetable, from Shanghai Maglev’s published schedule:

Departing from	First train	Last train	How often
Pudong Airport T1&2 station	07:02	21:42	Every 20 minutes
Longyang Road	06:45	21:40	Every 15 minutes until 07:00, then every 20

Ticket checks close 5 minutes before the last train, and the doors close a minute before every departure.

Fares:

Ticket	Price	Notes
Single	¥50	¥40 with a same-day air ticket, one discounted ticket per air ticket
Return	¥80	Valid for 7 days
Maglev + one-day Metro pass	¥55	One Maglev ride and 24 hours of unlimited Metro rides
Return Maglev + one-day Metro pass	¥85	Both Maglev legs and the same Metro pass
VIP single / return	¥100 / ¥160	VIP carriage

The ¥55 pass costs ¥15 more than the discounted single, so it pays for itself from about four Metro rides within the 24 hours.

Finding the station and paying. Follow the 磁浮线 / Maglev Line signs to Pudong Airport Terminal 1&2 station, in the transport hub between the terminals; the Airport Link Line is signposted from the same hall. Bags go through a security scanner at the entrance. The gates are tap-to-ride, and the sign at the entrance shows Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB and UnionPay, so a contactless foreign card works. To get the ¥40 fare, show your same-day air ticket when you buy. More on paying by card in Apple Pay and Google Pay in China.

When to skip it:

• You land in the evening. With trains every 20 minutes and arrivals that can take over an hour at that time of day, a landing after about 20:00 can miss the 21:42 last train.
• You are going to Hongqiao or its railway station. Take the Airport Link Line instead.
• You have heavy bags and a hotel well away from Metro Line 2. A taxi is simpler.

Taxis and DiDi

The official taxi stands run 24 hours: at T1, outside Arrivals Gate 12 (exit at Gate 4 or 8 and walk south), and at T2, outside Arrivals Gate 25. Use them rather than accepting offers inside the arrivals hall.

Shanghai’s city taxi tariff:

Distance or time	Fare
First 3 km	¥14 (¥16 in some electric models)
3–15 km	¥2.7 per km
Beyond 15 km	¥4.05 per km, a 50% long-distance surcharge
23:00–05:00	30% more on both

Waiting time in slow traffic is charged on top. Central Shanghai is roughly 40–50 km from PVG by road, and a 45 km ride works out at about ¥168 on the meter before waiting time and tolls, or about ¥218 at night.

Ride-hailing pick-ups are on level B2, in the P2 car park, not at the arrivals kerb. Follow the E-Hailing (网约车) signs down from L1. DiDi works for foreign visitors: see DiDi and ride-hailing in China.

Getting to Hongqiao: the Airport Link Line

Since December 2024 the Airport Link Line has connected Pudong and Hongqiao in about 40 minutes.

• Stations: Pudong Airport Terminal 1&2, Shanghai International Resort, East Kangqiao, South Sanlin, Jinghong Road, Zhongchun Road and Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2.
• Hours from 1 April 2026: from Pudong, 06:00–22:15; from Hongqiao, 05:45–22:00. A train about every 15 minutes.
• Fare: from ¥4, and the full Pudong–Hongqiao trip is the top fare of ¥26.
• Onward by rail: Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 shares a hub with Hongqiao Railway Station, where high-speed trains leave for Hangzhou, Suzhou and Nanjing. See high-speed rail for tourists.

A two-airport connection still means clearing immigration at PVG, the train ride, and checking in again at Hongqiao, so never combine one with sightseeing.

Sleeping at or near PVG

• A free airline hotel. China Eastern, the main airline in T1, runs a free transit hotel scheme at Shanghai, and Air China lists Pudong among its transit accommodation cities. The rules are strict: see free layover hotels by airline.
• The airport’s own hotels. Shanghai Airport Group lists the four-star Ramada Plaza Shanghai Pudong Airport and the Holiday Inn Express Shanghai Pudong Airport among its hotels. Check the walking or shuttle time when you book.
• Inside the terminal. The airport lists an overnight rest area, shower rooms, massage chairs and lounges among its passenger facilities. Ask at an information counter for the current location in your terminal.
• In the city. With 12 hours or more and visa-free entry, a hotel in Puxi beats a night at the airport. Hotels register foreign guests at check-in; see hotel registration for foreigners.

Wi-Fi, SIM cards and money

• Wi-Fi is free. Choose Passport Login on the portal page for a code that lasts about 4 hours, with no Chinese phone number needed. More in China airport Wi-Fi.
• SIM cards: the airport lists Wi-Fi rental and SIM card counters, but a local SIM means a counter visit and passport registration. A travel eSIM installed before you fly works the moment you land: see eSIM setup before you land.
• Money: the terminals have banks, currency exchange counters, ATMs and a mobile payment service point. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly, so the Metro, food and DiDi work from your first hour. See how to pay in China.
• Shopping to take home: departure tax refund counters are among the airport’s listed services.

Getting back for your flight

• Check-in closes 60 minutes before international departures and 40 minutes before domestic ones at Pudong, under the rule in force since 1 September 2026. Ethiopian Airlines closes at 70 minutes.
• After check-in, international departures pass one inspection area: customs (with health quarantine), exit border control and security, in that order, before the international gates. At T2, departures are on the third floor.
• Aim to be back in the terminal 2.5 hours before an international departure. Check-in queues, security and exit immigration add up.
• Last trains toward the airport: the last Maglev leaves Longyang Road at 21:40. On Metro Line 2, the last train from Guanglan Road to the airport leaves at 23:00 and arrives at 23:31, according to Shanghai Metro’s 2023 timetable change. After that, it is a taxi or DiDi.