Shanghai Pudong International Airport

Pudong is Shanghai’s international gateway, sitting on the eastern edge of the city out toward the coast. It handles most of the long-haul flying, while the closer-in Hongqiao airport (SHA) carries the bulk of domestic routes — so if you are connecting between an international arrival and a domestic flight, always check which airport your onward flight leaves from, because they are on opposite sides of a very large city.

The terminals

There are two terminals, T1 and T2, arranged either side of the central transport hub, with satellite concourses reached by an airside people mover. China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines anchor the operation, but many international carriers use both terminals, so confirm yours before you arrive.

The Maglev

Pudong’s signature is the Maglev — a magnetic-levitation train that reaches around 430 km/h and covers the run to Longyang Road station in roughly eight minutes. It is genuinely worth doing once just for the experience, and from Longyang Road you connect to Metro Line 2, which runs across the city and through to Hongqiao.

If you would rather skip the transfer, Metro Line 2 also runs directly from the airport into the center, but it is much slower than the Maglev-plus-Metro combination and involves a train change partway on some services. Taxis into central Shanghai are a long ride — the airport is about 30 km from the Bund — and cost accordingly, but they are metered and straightforward.

Worth knowing

Give yourself time for immigration and security, which are thorough. If you are only transiting China, check the current visa-free transit rules for your nationality and route before assuming you can leave the airport — the policies exist but have specific conditions on time and onward destination.