Shanghai Airport Transfers: Pudong, Hongqiao and the City
To get from a Shanghai airport to your hotel, first check the airport code and the address you actually need. Pudong is PVG; Hongqiao is SHA. Metro Line 2, the Maglev and the Airport Link Line serve different purposes, so the fastest train on one section is not necessarily the fastest journey to your door.
From Pudong, Line 2 is useful for central destinations, the Maglev ends at Longyang Road, and the Airport Link Line runs towards Hongqiao. At Hongqiao, Terminal 1 has Line 10, while Terminal 2 has Lines 2 and 10. The transport information below was checked on 25 October 2026; confirm current services and your final connection before travelling.
Start with the airport, terminal and hotel entrance
Planning the whole stay is more convenient with RoadMe: the app develops a personal trip plan around your interests, available time and preferred pace. Use it to organize the experiences you want, then choose an arrival transfer that fits the first day comfortably.
Save the airport code, terminal, hotel name in Chinese and the full address before departure. A hotel branch name matters: two properties with similar English names can be in different districts. The nearest station is useful, but also check the walk from a usable exit to the correct building entrance.
Do not identify your airport solely from whether a flight is international or domestic. Pudong handles both; Hongqiao also has international and regional services. The code on the booking is the reliable starting point. Likewise, Hongqiao Airport and Hongqiao Railway Station are distinct destinations, even though they belong to the same large transport area.
Compare the journey after immigration, baggage collection and customs. Add the terminal walk, waiting, changes and the final walk or car ride. An advertised eight-minute Maglev journey and a forty-minute inter-airport train journey describe time on a particular service, not time from landing to your hotel or next boarding gate.
Choose the transport for the destination
| Arrival and need | Option to examine | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| PVG to central districts near Line 2 | Metro Line 2 | A longer ride; check the final station and exit |
| PVG with interest in the Maglev | Maglev, then onward transport | Longyang Road is not the Bund or People's Square |
| PVG towards Hongqiao Airport T2 | Airport Link Line | Not a direct central-city hotel service |
| SHA Terminal 1 | Metro Line 10 or a car | Line 2 is at Terminal 2 |
| SHA Terminal 2 | Metro Line 2 or 10, or a car | Choose by the hotel, not the airport name alone |
| Late arrival or difficult luggage | Official taxi, booked car or a suitable night bus | Check the whole journey and exact pickup |
There is no single correct answer for “Shanghai centre”. People's Square, the Bund, Lujiazui and a hotel farther west are different destinations. A station serving one of them does not put you at every nearby attraction or at the door of your accommodation.
For one or two people with manageable bags and a straightforward station connection, rail is worth comparing first. With several heavy cases, a tired child or an awkward final walk, a direct car may justify its higher cost. Count the whole party and the actual car capacity; do not assume any vehicle will take every group and suitcase.
Pudong by Metro Line 2
Line 2 serves the station for Pudong Terminals 1 and 2 and continues across the city. The city government's guide uses People's Square as a reference: about one hour on the metro and a fare of around CNY7. This is an indicative station-to-station example, not a fixed fare or timing for every central hotel.
Follow Metro signs after entering the public arrivals area. Check the destination displayed for the train and the connection shown for your hotel. Do not reproduce an old instruction that every passenger must change at Guanglan Road: use the current service information and staff guidance for the train actually running.
The advantage of staying on Line 2 can be avoiding a change at Longyang Road. The disadvantage is the longer ride with frequent stops. Compare those practical differences rather than treating the Maglev as compulsory or assuming the cheapest ticket is always the easiest option after a long flight.
Check departure times in the direction from the airport, not the time the last train arrives there. A late arrival time on a timetable does not establish an equally late departure towards town. Also check any onward line: reaching an interchange after its final connecting service can leave an unexpected car journey.
The Maglev ends at Longyang Road
The Maglev links Pudong Airport with Longyang Road in roughly eight minutes. It does not run to People's Square, the Bund or Hongqiao Airport. At Longyang Road, continue by an appropriate metro service or car and include the transfer walk, waiting and onward fare in your comparison.
The airport currently lists an ordinary one-way fare of CNY50. Its published service window is 07:02–21:42 from Pudong and 06:45–21:40 from Longyang Road. Check the day's operation before relying on a late departure. These windows belong to the Maglev, not to Metro Line 2 or the Airport Link Line.
The city also lists a CNY55 combined ticket containing one economy-class Maglev journey and a one-day metro component. The metro element allows travel during operating hours within 24 hours of first entry, but excludes suburban railway lines opened in or after 2024. It does not therefore turn into an Airport Link Line pass. Compare the conditions and actual onward travel before buying.
Check reductions or other combinations at the authorized sales point rather than assuming a discount applies to every payment method. Tapping a bank card, buying a combined product and presenting eligibility for a concession are different actions. An ordinary single fare is not automatically converted to a day package.
The Maglev is an experience as well as transport: the Shanghai line entered commercial service in 2004. Its short airport connection makes the technology tangible, but a historic speed record is not a promise about your departure. Choose it because the experience and onward connection suit you, not because “eight minutes to the centre” sounds convincing.
Airport Link Line: for the Hongqiao corridor
The Airport Link Line connects Pudong Airport T1&T2 with Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 in about forty minutes on the train. The full journey is CNY26, with trains ordinarily around fifteen minutes apart. This is a separate railway service and fare arrangement, not another name for the Maglev or a Line 2 express train.
The city's updated timetable gives 06:00–22:15 departures from Pudong towards Hongqiao and 05:45–22:00 from Hongqiao T2 towards Pudong. Some older translated pages show different times or confuse arrival with departure. Recheck the operator's current direction-specific information close to travel, especially for a final train.
For a hotel around People's Square or East Nanjing Road, do not board merely because the service says “airport” and looks fast. It does not call at those central stations. For a destination along its corridor, compare the full connection, including the walk and any separate metro leg.
The stop named for Hongqiao Airport T2 is not a high-speed-rail departure platform. If you are continuing from Hongqiao Railway Station, allow for the actual transfer and the railway's boarding procedures. If your next flight is at Hongqiao Terminal 1, a further terminal connection is required. Neither is included in the forty-minute train figure.
Hongqiao: Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 are different
Terminal 1 is served by Metro Line 10. Terminal 2 has Lines 2 and 10, and the Airport Link Line connection is at T2. Line 10 links the two airport terminals, but first check whether changing terminals helps your particular journey rather than adding an unnecessary transfer.
If your hotel is conveniently reached from Line 10, starting there can be simpler than moving to Terminal 2 solely to find Line 2. If Line 2 better matches the destination, compare that change with a direct car. Look at the complete connection, usable lifts or escalators, and the final walk with luggage.
Do not confuse Shanghai Railway Station, Shanghai South Railway Station and Hongqiao Railway Station. They are different transport destinations. For an onward train, use the station shown on the rail booking, not the one whose English name seems most familiar.
For a return flight, confirm the terminal again and calculate arrival before your airline's required check-in and security times. The first available metro may not get you there early enough. An attractive rail timetable does not replace the airline's deadline.
Late arrivals: check a complete alternative
Plan using the likely time you will leave the public arrivals hall. Scheduled landing before the last train is not enough when immigration, bags and walking still lie ahead. Keep a car option or a confirmed suitable bus connection instead of making the last service your only workable plan.
The airport's published Pudong late-night bus runs from T1 between 23:00 and 05:30 the next day, and from T2 between 23:03 and 05:33. Listed fares range from CNY18 to CNY34 according to the journey. Check the current service at arrivals, because departures respond to passenger flow and traffic.
The route has several intermediate stops and finishes at the East Transportation Center of Hongqiao Hub. That name does not promise delivery to your hotel or to the entrance of either Hongqiao terminal. Establish the correct stop and what you will do after getting off, especially when the metro is no longer running.
For Hongqiao arrivals, check the night services for that terminal separately. Do not apply Pudong's timetable or bus name to SHA. Our guide to late-night arrivals and accommodation access helps coordinate the transfer with reception or key collection.
Taxi, booked car and the final address
Use the official taxi queue or the pickup location assigned to a booked car. They are not necessarily the same place. Follow the airport's current signs and your booking instructions; an unsolicited offer in the arrivals hall is not confirmation of an authorized pickup.
The city's guide gives approximately CNY180 and fifty minutes from Pudong to People's Square, and around CNY100–150 and thirty minutes from Hongqiao to central areas. Treat these as reference examples, not fixed quotes. Traffic, destination, waiting and the applicable fare conditions can change the amount and duration.
For a booked transfer, confirm the flight, terminal, included waiting, meeting procedure, luggage and final price. For an app car, check the exact pickup point, vehicle and destination in the app. Do not expect a driver to find you solely from a screenshot of an unfamiliar English hotel name.
Have the Chinese address and hotel contact accessible independently of live mobile data. If the car cannot stop directly at the door, establish the final approach. This is especially useful at a late hour when a hotel's public-facing entrance and vehicle entrance may be different.
Prepare payment without making it the whole arrival task
RoadMe helps turn your interests into a complete personal travel plan with visits, travel time and breaks. Organizing the stay in the app makes it easier to leave a comfortable arrival day instead of starting with a rushed programme.
Shanghai's current guidance supports eligible contactless UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and JCB cards at gates, subject to the card's settings and acceptance. This does not establish that every issuing bank or card works. Look for the displayed acceptance and keep a suitable alternative if a payment fails.
Supported transit QR codes are another option. An ordinary wallet payment code and a code enabled for metro travel are not interchangeable. Configure the intended method before departure, and keep enough phone power to show the ticket or code when required. Staffed service centres also offer ticket purchasing options with supported cards.
Our guide to payments in China with Alipay, WeChat Pay, cards and cash covers the wider preparation. For the first transfer, a method you have checked and a separate backup are more useful than downloading several unfamiliar apps after landing.
Before leaving the terminal, confirm five things: the correct destination, the service still running, its actual endpoint, the final connection and how you will pay. This keeps the airport journey tied to your hotel and arrival time rather than to the fastest-looking transport headline.
