How do I get from the airport to Shanghai?

Shanghai Pudong International Airport sits 30 km east of the Bund, built on reclaimed delta land where the humid air off the East China Sea hits you the moment you clear customs. Most international flights land at PVG. Your lowest-anxiety transfer is Metro Line 2, which runs from beneath Terminal 2 directly to Nanjing Road East and People's Square with no change required. The fare is 7 CNY ($1). The ride takes about 70 minutes. Trains run from roughly 6:00am to 10:30pm, and the platform sits two floors below arrivals, well-signed in English and Mandarin. Mind you, Line 2 gets brutal during rush hours, between 7:30-9:30am and 5:00-7:00pm. Standing for 70 minutes in a packed car with a rolling suitcase pressed against your shins is not how you want to start a trip. If you're arriving between 2:00pm and 4:00pm, this is likely your best bet. If you're arriving during peak hours or with more than one bag, take the Maglev instead.

The Shanghai Maglev covers 30 km from PVG to Longyang Road station in 8 minutes, hitting 431 km/h on runs before 5:00pm and 300 km/h after. Tickets cost 50 CNY ($7.40), or 40 CNY ($5.90) with a same-day boarding pass. The car smells faintly of recycled air and cleaning fluid, and the only real hint you're traveling that fast is the speed display on the cabin wall and the blur of Pudong farmland outside the window. The catch. Longyang Road is still in eastern Pudong, roughly 5 km from anything you'd want to visit. Transfer downstairs to Metro Line 2 for another 25-30 minutes into Puxi. Total door-to-door time runs about 45 minutes at 54 CNY ($8). The Maglev departs every 15-20 minutes from 6:45am to 9:40pm. That said, the combined ride is still faster than Metro Line 2 alone by about 25 minutes, and you get to ride the fastest commercial train on earth. Worth it.

After 10:30pm, when both the Maglev and metro shut down, your options narrow to taxis and Didi. Metered taxis queue on the ground floor of the arrivals hall, where warm, sticky delta air seeps through the automatic doors. A ride to the Bund or Jing'an runs 150-200 CNY ($22-30). The Former French Concession costs 180-250 CNY ($27-37). Budget 40-60 minutes depending on traffic, though late-night runs on the G40 expressway move fast, with nothing but the hum of tires on concrete and the glow of Pudong's skyline receding behind you. Didi tends to be 10-15% cheaper, but you need a Chinese phone number to register, which is a problem at 1:00am without a working SIM. If you haven't arranged an eSIM before landing, take the taxi queue. One thing about Shanghai taxis. Drivers rarely speak English. Have your hotel name and address in Chinese characters saved on your phone before you leave home. Most hotel front desks will message it to you if you email ahead.

If your flight lands at Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA), 13 km west of People's Square, the transfer is simpler. Metro Lines 2 and 10 both run from Hongqiao's integrated terminal. Line 2 reaches Nanjing Road West in about 35 minutes for 4 CNY ($0.60). Line 10 is the better pick if you're heading to the Former French Concession or the Yuyuan Garden area near the Old City. Taxis from Hongqiao to central Shanghai run 50-100 CNY ($7-15) and take 20-40 minutes. Hongqiao handles most domestic routes and some regional flights from Tokyo Haneda, Seoul Gimpo, and Taipei Songshan, so check which airport your flight uses before planning. Worth noting that Hongqiao connects directly to Shanghai's high-speed rail station in the same building, so arrivals from Beijing, Hangzhou, or Nanjing by train are already at a metro stop. The terminal is newer and less overwhelming than Pudong's cavernous departure halls, with clear English signage throughout.