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Learn more about flights to Shanghai 🛫
Crazy Llama will help you quickly and easily choose and buy tickets to Shanghai.
Shanghai is a vibrant city with bright lights, tall skyscrapers, bustling markets and creative energy. Also it's a treasury of colonial style.
This is one of the largest cities in China. To see it all is a real challenge. Fortunately, the subway works great in Shanghai, so getting to any of its points will be an easy task. But in this city you can see with your own eyes how China has changed over the millennia, and find out what it came to in the 21st century.
Shanghai Airports
There are two international airports in Shanghai and both are among the five largest airports in China. Although you are 99% likely to come to Pudong, there are a few things to know about Hongqiao.
Pudong International Airport, PVG
Almost all international flights fly to Pudong, connecting it with 70 cities around the world. There are two huge terminals at the airport connected by bus.
Interesting that residents of most European countries and developed countries of other continents can arrange visa-free transit for 144 hours in Pudong and stay for 6 days in Shanghai and the surrounding area before flying to the end point of their journey. It is very convenient for those who want to quickly get acquainted with China, without bothering with documents.
Hongqiao International Airport, SHA
Hongqiao is located on the opposite side of the city relative to Pudong. At the same time, both airports are connected by a direct metro line, so you can get from one to the other in about an hour and a half. It is impressively fast, as for a gigantic city with 26 million population.
If Pudong was built just recently in 1999, then Hongqiao had already celebrated its 100th anniversary. Now it serves mainly domestic flights, and some Japanese and Korean airlines.
How to get from the airport to the city center
No matter what airport you are at, you have 3 ways to get to the center of Shanghai: metro, bus, taxi.
Subway
The most cost-effective and fastest way to use the subway. Pudong and Hongqiao are connected by line No. 2, which will take you to the center. The fare will vary depending on the distance: an average of 3 to 20 yuan (0.5–3 dollars). The trip will take about an hour.
Bus
A bus ticket will also cost $ 3. Yes, and in time the trip will take the same time, but only if the famous Chinese traffic jams do not meet you on the way.
Taxi
The most expensive way to get to the center is by taxi. The cost will be approximately $ 25 in the daytime and about $ 30 at night. At the same time, as usually in Asia, you should immediately tell the taxi driver that he should turn on the meter. Otherwise, you can pay several times more.
Express train
From Pudong, the express train runs to the center. It is both convenient transportation and attraction for tourists. An express ticket costs $ 7, and it takes only 10 (!) minutes to travel.
What to do in Shanghai
Shanghai will appeal to anyone who knows how to live in the rhythm of a big city. A huge number of people live here. At the same time, this is real China, which is absolutely different from any other country in the world.
Shanghai is full of life and movement. Something interesting always happens in the city. It happened so that Shanghai became the forefront of China, and not Beijing, as it should be in the capital. Here you can find all the new and unusual that China can offer the world now. Why else go to Shanghai? For these things:
Museum of Shanghai
Does it make sense to look to the future if you do not know anything about the past? To understand any city, you must first study its history. You will be much more surprised at the contrast of the old and the new, which are adjacent in Shanghai at every step, if you visit the Museum of Shanghai. There is a gigantic collection of ancient Chinese art in the Museum. Remember the famous Chinese porcelain, jade figurines, calligraphic scrolls, and so on? The Museum of Shanghai has it all and even a little more. This dose of beauty and skill is enough for you for the whole trip!
The Bund or Waitan
One of the main places in Shanghai for any tourist is the Bund along the Huangpu River from the side of the homonymous district. You must come here in the evening when the lights on the buildings on the opposite bank are lit. This Bund is also called the “Museum of World Architecture” because of the strange mixture of styles that can be seen on a 1.5-kilometer stretch of coast. Here you can find Art Deco, and Gothic, and classic, and Baroque, and much more. Was all this mixed up by chance on one bank? Probably yes. But this place did not become less surprising and beautiful.
By the way, get ready for the lively “Chinese wall” of tourists on the waterfront. We'll have to bother a bit for the best views. Or you can buy a ticket for a pleasure boat along this beautiful coast.
Zhujiajiao
There is a tiny town with a hard-to-pronounce name Zhujiajiao 25 km from Shanghai. This city on the water for about 2000 years, while he perfectly preserved his historical data. For example, most of the small bridges in Zhujiajiao were built during the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Also, traditional Chinese gardens, buildings, and temples have been preserved in their original form in this city, which is often called "pearl". Here you can also try unique local cuisine, the basis of which are beans, soy and lotus roots. You can get here by metro to Shanghai Stadium station, and by bus from this point.
What to eat in Shanghai
The Shanghaians are called sweet tooth. Their local food has more sugar than any other region of China. This should be taken into account for everyone who can't eat sugar — better ask the chef about consistance. Especially when it comes to all kinds of sauces.
The first thing to try in Shanghai is the xiaolunbao steam dumplings, which look very much like Georgian khinkali. Let the dumpling soak for a couple of seconds in soy sauce and carefully send it into your mouth not to burn yourself. Xiaolunbao needs to be careful: they are addictive with their amazing taste.
Steamed crab is another dish that you must definitely try here, because crabs are caught right along the coast of Shanghai. Their claws are tied with thread, put in bamboo baskets and steamed.
Another favorite dish of Shanghai is the red pork Hong Shao Ru. Pork is cooked in spices and brown sugar, and then poured with a special sauce, thanks to which it acquires its red hue. The meat literally melts in your mouth, and this is definitely one of Shanghai's most authentic tastes.
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