Shanghai
Pudong international Airport Info
Pudong ( IATA: PVG)
is Shanghai's new international airport, located 40 km to the east of
the city. Arrivals are on the first floor, departures on the third, and
the airport has all the features you'd expect. There are now two gigantic
terminals (T1 and T2), so check which one you're going to. A free shuttle
bus service connects the two.
The most
convenient, but also the most expensive way to get to central Shanghai
is by taxi, but figure on ¥145 and about an hour to get to the center
of the city. Head for the official taxi line to the far right of the arrival
terminal. Taxi drivers seldom speak any English, but you may want to check
that they know where you would like to go and the estimated cost to get
there. Ask an attendant at the info desk to write down the name of your
destination in Chinese for you to show the driver. It is not advisable
to follow any person inside the terminal claiming to be a taxi driver,
unless there are two of you and someone speaks good Shanghainese or Mandarin.
Use extreme caution and double check the charges as some will try to charge
up to 10 times the normal fare. Never allow the driver to pick up a "friend"
or any other second passenger.
Airport buses are
considerably cheaper (¥15-22), but take up to an hour and a half and
stop running at 11PM. There are a number of routes, but two particularly
convenient ones connect to the Airport City Terminal on Nanjing West Road
(#2, ¥19) and Shanghai train station (#5, ¥18). Budget travelers
may also consider buses stopping at Longyang Road (1#/5#, ¥12) from
where you may transfer to Subway Line No. 2. For a link to lines 3/4,
#6 (¥20) goes to Zhongshan Park station (actually a few blocks off-
change to the local 947 bus and take it one stop if you can't walk that
distance for whatever reason).
More a tourist attraction
and prestige project than practical means of transport, the Transrapid
Maglev train shuttles from the airport to the middle of Pudong in 7 minutes
flat at a blazing speed of 431 km/hour. If your final destination is Pudong,
a short subway or taxi ride remains; however, if you're looking to go
further west to Puxi, plan on 30 minutes or more on the subway. On the
2nd floor of the airport you can purchase Maglev tickets from the ticket
counter. The wait for one train is typically no longer than 10 mins. Once
you're at the end of the Maglev line, you can walk down the stairs and
in about 1 minute arrive at the Longyang Lu subway station (Line 2). That
said, the Maglev to Longyang and a taxi from there is the fastest way
to get to places around Pudong, and the ride is definitely an experience
in a thrilling way.
Depending on traffic,
it may be just as quick to take the subway to western areas of Shanghai
rather than risk traffic congestion in a taxi. Some minor inconveniences
aside, it's definitely worth the experience for the cost. The train is
very clean, easy to find, and extremely fast! Services currently operate
from 6:45AM to 9:30PM daily and cost ¥50 one way (¥40 if you have
a same-day ticket) or ¥80 for a round-trip ticket (good for up to
7 days from date of purchase). You can also opt to pay double for "VIP
Class", which gets you a soft drink and bragging rights.
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