Ways to reach downtown from Shanghai Pudong Airport
Let's has a look at all accessible ways taking you to downtown from Shanghai Pudong International Airport and talk about the advantages/disadvantages of each of them.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport is nestled at the city's east end where is about 40kms away from the downtown. Distance never diminishes the importance of Pudong International Airport being the gateway to the world, however, it may affect your decision making on selecting the suitable transportation for the rest of the journey, as the time difference among all options can be quite considerable, selecting the suitable transportation or making the necessary preparation could help be consistent with your schedule. Here, let's has a look at all accessible ways taking you to downtown from Shanghai Pudong International Airport and talk about the advantages/disadvantages of each of them.
1. Metro Line 2
Shanghai's metro line 2 connects the city's eastern part and western part with a total length of 64 km composed of 30 stations (including 9 transit stations), the route is traveling across several city centers spreading along the city's east-west axis, which includes Zhangjiang High-Tech zone, Century Avenue, Lujiazui (Pudong CBD), East Nanjing Road (the famous pedestrian street in Huangpu District), People's Square, West Nanjing Road, Jing'an Temple, Zhongshan Park, Hongqiao Airport T2, Hongqiao Railway Station, and East Xujing (National Exhibition and Convention Center). A single trip of metro line 2 from one end to the other costs about 120 minutes with the full ticket expense of CNY 9.
Route - Metro Line 2
The metro entrance is located in the middle of the passageway that connects the two terminal halls of the airport (T1 and T2), adequate direction boards spreading throughout the whole airport are dedicated to precisely guiding you to anywhere you want to go, don't worry about getting lost.
The Arrivals Hall
Direction Boards erected at the Arrivals Hall
Metro Entrance
The advantages:
Economical, money-saving, as the full ticket is CNY 9, the cost of reaching downtown is primarily ranging from CNY 5 to CNY 8.
The disadvantages:
Long queue waiting for the security check outside the metro entrance, especially on holidays.
Time-costing, it may cost 50 minutes to get in the area of the downtown sphere.
Tips:
Exchange some cash once you see any Exchange Counter in the airport, which would save your hassles from metro ticket buying, as all the metro stations of Shanghai are equipped with touch-screen dispensers that operate in both English and Chinese in order to optimize the efficiency of passenger flow, working staff provided for manual selling is really scarce.
Metro tickets are actually easy to buy, just tap your destination on the dispenser screen and select how many tickets you want to buy, insert your money and grab your ticket, that's it.
Time of first/last train: 6am/10pm
Price: CNY 3-9/person
Dispensers (Ticket Vending Machine)
Dispensers (Ticket Vending Machine)
The high-level security checking procedure is universally practiced in Shanghai's metro system, make sure you've got everything that you had put on the convey belt before moving forward.
Security check
Metro Platform
Metro Line 2
2. Maglev
Shanghai's maglev is playing an important role in transiting passengers between the downtown and the Pudong International Airport, which is faster and relatively economical. This end-to-end traveling route connects the Pudong Airport Station to Longyang Road Station with a single trip distance of 30km, every departure from one terminal is committed to reaching the other within 8 minutes, promising an average speed of 225km/h while the peak could reach 430km/h.
The maglev station entrance is also located in the passageway connecting the two terminal halls, where is about tens of meters away from the metro station of line 2. The signage spreading throughout the airport would lead you there.
The advantages: fast, seat guaranteed.
The disadvantages: its one-stop-route only takes all passengers to Longyang Road Station, the rest of the trip would have to be completed by making a transit.
Maglev Entrance
Maglev Waiting Area
Maglev Platform
Tips:
The maglev's terminal of Longyang Road Station is situated next to the city's inner-ring expressway, adjoining it is the joint metro station for metro lines 2, 7, and 16.
Time of first/last train: 7:02am/9:42pm
Price: CNY 50/person (CNY 40 by showing flight ticket)
Signage in Longyang Road Station
Directions on the ground in Longyang Road Station
Maglev Schedule Board
3. Airport Shuttle Buses
The airport shuttle buses offer additional options for heading downtown.
A total of 8 routes are running in different directions taking passengers downtown, in addition, a late-night shuttle bus is spared for the passengers who arrived on the day's last flight.
Take notice of the route information before getting on it, make sure you are on the right bus.
The advantages: relatively economical, seat guaranteed.
The disadvantages: when the route couldn't offer close proximity to your destination, you'll have to take another transit.
Tips:
The ticket price ranges from CNY 2 to CNY 30, depending on the trip distance.
The waiting area of the airport shuttle buses is located outside the airport terminal hall, take notice of the signage.
Refer to the latest route information at the Shanghai Airport Office Website:
http://www.shanghaiairport.com/en/jcjt/index_225670029.html
4. Taxi
Taxi can be a workable option to the demand for an end-to-end trip. The dedicated spots for taxi pick-up and drop-down in Pudong Airport are separately reserved at different levels in order to optimize the traffic flow efficiency. Take notice of the signage posted around and move forward to the pick-up spot, no passenger is allowed to cut the corner from the drop-down spot.
Advantages: end-to-end trip, no need to make another transit.
Disadvantages:
Sometimes you need to be prepared for a long queue waiting in the taxi waiting area, especially on holidays.
Your trip could be filled with grievances or trash talk dumped by the driver after you've appointed a trip in a short distance, as most of the drivers who have driven into the airport waiting lines are touting for big deals in long distances.
When the route is involving dealing with congestions, your trip may lag behind the schedule.
Taxi fare starts from CNY 14 or 16 (covering a trip of 3km), the trip exceeded 3km will be charged by CNY 2.5-4.7/km for the extra part beyond 3km.
For more details, refer to:
http://www.shanghaiairport.com/en/jcjt/index_225691809.html
5. Airport Transfer service offered by chauffeured car
A practical solution that saves you from the hassle of a long queue waiting or unpredictable service quality as well as satisfies you with a seamless trip arrangement is the Airport Transfer offered by chauffeured car.
All you need to do is making an order in advance from the options listed on the page of Airport Transfer, the Client Service will deal with the order and get in touch with you at the first time, to let you know that all the part of your trip will be well taken care of.
A contact number will be given at the bottom of the Booking Details page, which allows you to reach the Client Service for any problem or question related to your trip at any time. Your trip won't be easier from the moment you selected any of the services offered by this concierge-like platform.
Advantages:
High-class experience, professional driver, concierge-like client service.
Disadvantages:
Reservation should be made in advance.
Good service always deserves a higher price.
Private airport transfer service with a professional chauffeur
