I was on my way to Tokyo had two options for a layover in Shanghai. One felt too short (what if there was any delay on the way?) and one was way too long. 11 hours! What on earth would I do with that. Could I get out of the airport and explore? How much of a pain in the ass would that be? One thing led to another and it’s not too bad. Here are the details.
What is the 24-hour transit exemption?
China has a 24-hour visa-free transit policy at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. It’s available to citizens from most countries, but of course, ultimate discretion is up to the officer at the gate. Your itinerary must go from one country through China to a different third country (for example, Spain → China → Japan).
You don’t apply for the transit exemption before you travel. You get it at the immigration counter when you land. (You do need to fill out the Digital Arrival Card in advance, I’ll get to that later.)
What you walk away with is a Temporary Entry Permit — a sticker placed directly into your passport by the immigration officer.
The 24-hour window starts from your scheduled arrival time. You must be back through security and leave within that window.
There’s also a 240-hour option
If you’ve got time for a multi-day stopover, China also offers a 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit for citizens of 55 specific countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, most of Europe, Japan, South Korea, and others. This is for longer layovers and allows you to travel around seeing a lot more of the country.
If your layover is longer than 24 hours but under 10 days, that’s the policy you’d use instead. The application process at the airport is similar (I hear from other bloggers, but I haven’t done it myself), but it’s a different permit with different eligibility requirements.
Pudong vs. Hongqiao
This post is based on my experience at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), which handles most international flights. Shanghai also has Hongqiao Airport (SHA), which is primarily for domestic and regional flights.
Pre-Trip Preparation
1. Make sure your route qualifies
Your itinerary must go from one country, through China, to a different country.
The key word is different, you’re not allowed to fly Country A → Shanghai → Country A. I believe Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan count as separate destinations for this purpose but you’ll want to double check.
2. Have your onward ticket ready
You’ll need to show a confirmed connecting ticket to your next destination with a departure within 24 hours of your scheduled arrival time.
3. Fill out the China Digital Arrival Card before your flight
Since November 2025, China requires all foreign travelers to complete a digital arrival card (CDAC) before or on entry. You can technically do this on arrival using airport kiosks, but I strongly recommended to do it beforehand. The airport is hot, crowded, the wifi is unreliable, and you’ll already be dealing with the general tiredness of getting off a long flight, trying to get through immigration as fast as possible to get your bags and meet up with your tour guide or make your way to the city, and its just one less thing on the list.
They have two links:
You’ll upload a photo of your passport ID page and fill in basic travel details: flight number, entry port (Shanghai / Pudong International Airport), purpose of visit, your contact information.
The address field: The form asks for your address in Shanghai. Since I wasn’t staying overnight I just wrote in: I have an 11-hour layover. I am leaving the airport for a tour and then returning."
Submit, and the system emails you a QR code receipt. Save it to your phone and screenshot it as a backup in case you need it offline.
NOTE: Your passport must also be valid for at least 3 months past your date of travel.
On arrival at Pudong airport
Immigration
Follow signs for immigration after deplaning. You’ll enter a large hall with multiple lines for foreign passport holders.
It’s hot. It’s crowded. It’s clusterf’ery. There was signage for the 24-hour transit line, however, tthe staff member waved me away from that line and into the general foreign visitors queue. It stressed me out the whole time waiting and feeling like I was in the wrong line but eventually was fine.
When I reached the counter I was asked for my passport, the QR code for the digital arrival card, and my boarding pass to my next destination. The officer asks pretty standard questions. One that may catch you off guard: they may ask if you already have a Chinese visa.
This is just a routine check I guess. They’re asking whether you have a visa you’d like to use instead.
I thought I had gotten something wrong and that idiot me had showed up without a visa and was going to get rejected. In the space of 3 seconds I felt my entire trip falling away and that I would be stuck in an airport, miserable for 11 hours, lose all the money for the tour, and possibly be thrown in customs jail for even attempting to enter the country without a visa!
But no. It’s just a standard question (and I need therapy for how guilty and stressed I get at immigration while being a law abiding citizen!). I stammered out that no, I didn’t have a visa, I wanted the 24-hour exemption. He smiled and said of course, he understood. Goodness, my blood pressure! He printed out a sticker, placed it in my passport and I was free to go.
After immigration
Collect your bags (if you have to) and proceed through customs as normal. My bags were thankfully going all the way through to my next destination of Tokyo so I didn’t have to worry about luggage storage. There is a place to store them in the arrivals hall and it’s pretty easy to find. There isn’t much to do or see in arrivals. Some conveninece stores, a resting area, baggage storage, restrooms. Apologies for not looking into the baggage storage more and not being able to tell exactly where it’s located but as I didn’t need it and I was bleary eyed off a 13-hour flight I didn’t think to.
Getting to the city
Pudong Airport is about 30km east of downtown Shanghai. You have a few options. These are all taken from the internet and I cannot vouch for their accurateness. I spent more on my tour to have the private driver pickup and dropoff options because I am well aware upfront that I would have 0 desire to figure this out by myself after a long flight.
Metro Line 2 is the cheapest option. It goes direct from the airport to People’s Square in the city center, and takes around 65–70 minutes. It costs approximately 7 RMB (under $1 USD) and runs from around 6am to 10pm.
Maglev + Metro is faster and an experience! The Shanghai Maglev is the world’s first commercial high-speed magnetic levitation train, running 30km from Pudong to Longyang Road Station in about 8 minutes at speeds up to 430 km/h.
From Longyang Road you transfer to Metro Line 2 for the rest of the journey. Total time is roughly 40–50 minutes. Maglev costs 50 RMB (~$7 USD) one-way, 80 RMB round-trip.
Note: if you’re carrying a lot of luggage, the transfer between the Maglev and metro adds some friction.
Taxi is the most straightforward if you have luggage or don’t want to navigate transit. Expect 150–190 RMB (~$20–26 USD) to downtown, around 45–60 minutes depending on traffic.
Important: not all taxi drivers speak English, and not all take cards. Have your destination written in Chinese characters (your hotel name, a landmark, wherever you’re going) and ideally have some cash in RMB. Do not assume a card will work.
Ride-hailing via Didi (China’s equivalent of Uber) is another option if you have the app set up before arrival. Pricing is similar to taxis with the convenience of in-app communication.
Tour options
If you’d rather not navigate the city independently on a tight layover, guided tours are a practical option. Several operators run Shanghai layover tours specifically designed around short windows, with airport pickup and drop-off available so you don’t have to think about getting yourself back in time.
Current options on Viator range from roughly $100–$200 USD per person for private half-day and full-day tours covering the main highlights: the Bund, Yu Garden, Nanjing Road, the French Concession, and Xintiandi.
Some include lunch or entrance fees; others are priced separately. Most offer free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance.
Here’s the specific tour I took, booked on Viator: Amazing Shanghai Trip
Browse additional options here: Viator Shanghai Layover Tours
NOTE: The links above are affiliate links. I’d appreciate if you book through them as I’ll earn a small commision and it supports the blog. The first link is the exact tour I took, you can see my name in the reviews. I try to only recommend things that I actually do/use.
A few practical notes
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WeChat Pay and Alipay are the dominant payment methods in China. Some places don’t accept foreign cards at all. Get some RMB cash at the airport before you leave, or set up Alipay before you travel. Alternatively, just get a little bit of cash out.
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VPN/eSIM: China blocks most Western apps and websites including Google, Instagram, and WhatsApp. If you need any of these, have a VPN downloaded and active before you land — you won’t be able to download one once you’re there. If you’re going to buy Chinese data using an eSIM, again, be sure to do that before you go. I bought a day’s worth of data using Saily and it worked just fine. Gave me access to WhatsApp to let my folks know I’d landed OK, but I didn’t really need to use it for anything else so forgot to test Google, FB etc.
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Time: Build buffer. Getting through immigration, collecting bags, and getting into the city takes longer than you expect. On an 11-hour layover you’ll probably have about 6-7 hours in the city.
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Getting back: Leave yourself more time to return than you think you need. Traffic can be unpredictable, and you’ll need to clear security again before your gate.