Shanghai PVG - 8 hour layover

[xen0n33]

I have an 8 hour + daytime layover in Shanghai coming up (LGW-PVG-SYD) and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for what to focus on for a day trip into the city?

(I've done a short trip to China before, so I have AliPay setup and have used it on the Guangzhou metro, so hopefully that will be relatively smooth.)

 

[markis10]

From ChinaHighlights.com

Nanjing Road is Shanghai's premier pedestrian street for shopping and eating. About 20 minutes is enough to walk the mile (1½ kilometers) of Nanjing Road.

The Bund, the heart of Shanghai, is a landmark with colonial buildings and skyscraper views. The night scenes of the Bund are extremely eye-catching. There are many cafés and restaurants there. It takes half an hour to shoot some pictures and takes about 2 hours for an in-depth discovery tour.

You can go straight from the airport to Nanjing Road by taxi, private transfer, or Metro Line 2. After spending some time shopping and eating in Nanjing Road, you can walk down to the Bund, which is at the end of Nanjing Road.

The Complete Guide to a Shanghai Layover: Things to Do in 6, 8, and 12 hours

Planning a flight with a layover at Shanghai? Here is a complete guide for stopping over in Shanghai, from where to store your luggage to visa exemption and top things to do to.

www.chinahighlights.com

Don’t forget to try the Maglev, the worlds fastest commercial train.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I have an 8 hour + daytime layover in Shanghai coming up (LGW-PVG-SYD) and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for what to focus on for a day trip into the city?

(I've done a short trip to China before, so I have AliPay setup and have used it on the Guangzhou metro, so hopefully that will be relatively smooth.)

Depends what time you’re arriving?

I was in shanghai a couple months ago and we did a free walking tour, departed at 10am for four hours. We had two couples on the tour who were there during transit… they arrived about 7am and were leaving in the afternoon.

 

[xen0n33]

Depends what time you’re arriving?

I was in shanghai a couple months ago and we did a free walking tour, departed at 10am for four hours. We had two couples on the tour who were there during transit… they arrived about 7am and were leaving in the afternoon.

Scheduled to arrive at 11:50, then flying out at 20:20. So pretty much the entire afternoon, even allowing for plenty of padding.

Bit of a shame I'll be roaming around in the hottest part of the day - when it seems to be 30+ with 85% humidity atm - but I'd like to see a few sights (and properly tire myself out for the overnight home).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Scheduled to arrive at 11:50, then flying out at 20:20. So pretty much the entire afternoon, even allowing for plenty of padding.

Bit of a shame I'll be roaming around in the hottest part of the day - when it seems to be 30+ with 85% humidity atm - but I'd like to see a few sights (and properly tire myself out for the overnight home).

You’ve probably missed the free walking tour windows… they seem to leave at around 1000 or 130… then a break until 6pm.

Still… take the maglev + line 2 to People’s square… alight there and walk down Nanjing Road towards the Bund… view Pudong skyline + old colonial buildings on the Bund. Perhaps drop in for a drink at somewhere like the Waldorf Astoria long Bar. Head back to station, stopping off at a couple of places to sample food. If you complete the above in super quick time, you could stop off at the Urban Planning museum, close to people’s square. Air conditioned and a couple of cool models of shanghai, but otherwise not overly interesting.

If it’s gonna be 30+ degrees, recommend a good hat or umbrella. The heat can be brutal.

 

[SYD]

I have an 8 hour + daytime layover in Shanghai coming up (LGW-PVG-SYD) and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for what to focus on for a day trip into the city?

(I've done a short trip to China before, so I have AliPay setup and have used it on the Guangzhou metro, so hopefully that will be relatively smooth.)

Load up the Shanghai metro virtual card on your AliPay before you land (that’ll save time flaffing around at ticket machines). Scan in/out - easy peasy.

You can pre-purchase Maglev tickets online (scan the QR card you receive at the Maglev station machines to retrieve your actual ticket(s) to ride).

You can get the same metro line from the airport to People Sq/Nanjing Rd but the Maglev whips through about 2/3rds the distance in a fraction of the time. So worth it for the fun and time saving (and probably less crowded than the metro).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Is there still a discount for the maglev if you present you pr boarding pass? Used to give a 20% discount.

 

[SYD]

Is there still a discount for the maglev if you present you pr boarding pass? Used to give a 20% discount.

Don’t know. I couldn’t see anything when I went searching and just bought 2x oneway from Trip.com when we flew out a few weeks ago. A$21.64 2x PAX oneway to PVG.

 

[drcam]

How long away is this? When I was in Shanghai in mid-September last year, it was 35 degrees with humidity. August would be considerably worse.

The eateries along the river bank at the Bund do have good food, at a premium, but nothing exorbitant by Western standards. The extremely tasteless Bund Sightseeing Tunnel is also worth a ride for its entertainment / bad humour value.

 

[xen0n33]

You’ve probably missed the free walking tour windows… they seem to leave at around 1000 or 130… then a break until 6pm.

Still… take the maglev + line 2 to People’s square… alight there and walk down Nanjing Road towards the Bund… view Pudong skyline + old colonial buildings on the Bund. Perhaps drop in for a drink at somewhere like the Waldorf Astoria long Bar. Head back to station, stopping off at a couple of places to sample food. If you complete the above in super quick time, you could stop off at the Urban Planning museum, close to people’s square. Air conditioned and a couple of cool models of shanghai, but otherwise not overly interesting.

If it’s gonna be 30+ degrees, recommend a good hat or umbrella. The heat can be brutal.

Thanks for the tips, sounds like a good itinerary. Shame about missing the tours but I guess that leaves me to wander at my own pace.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 4:37 PM

Load up the Shanghai metro virtual card on your AliPay before you land (that’ll save time flaffing around at ticket machines). Scan in/out - easy peasy.

You can pre-purchase Maglev tickets online (scan the QR card you receive at the Maglev station machines to retrieve your actual ticket(s) to ride).

You can get the same metro line from the airport to People Sq/Nanjing Rd but the Maglev whips through about 2/3rds the distance in a fraction of the time. So worth it for the fun and time saving (and probably less crowded than the metro).

Cheers for the tip re: Maglev. I had been thinking about taking it just for the novelty but good point about the time saving.

 

[xen0n33]

How long away is this? When I was in Shanghai in mid-September last year, it was 35 degrees with humidity. August would be considerably worse.

The eateries along the river bank at the Bund do have good food, at a premium, but nothing exorbitant by Western standards. The extremely tasteless Bund Sightseeing Tunnel is also worth a ride for its entertainment / bad humour value.

Will be mid-August, so bracing for the heat/humidity.

Interesting re: the tunnel; I'd not heard of it. Checking it out on Google images, looks wonderfully tacky.