Arrival day, in order
Part of Before you go, a sourced pre-trip guide for a first visit to Shanghai. Checked 2026-10-03; rules change, so each step links to its source. Data version 5e1254c0b277.
Land → hotel — The order of steps from landing to your hotel front desk.
In short
- Fill your arrival card online before you fly.
- Buy a 7-, 15- or 30-day SIM at the airport.
- Keep your phone able to receive SMS.
- Hand the original passport to your hotel desk.
- Check the last airport train before choosing train or taxi.
Land → immigration → bags → ISS → ride → hotel passport
1. Fill your arrival card online at https://s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC/, or complete it at the port (kiosk or paper card).
2. Collect your bags, then look in the PVG baggage-claim area for SIM cards, portable Wi-Fi and currency exchange.
3. Go to the International Services Shanghai (ISS) one-stop (PVG T1/T2, SHA T1) for payment help, maps, SIM cards and transport cards.
4. Buy a 7-, 15- or 30-day China Telecom SIM at the PVG public arrivals hall with your passport.
5. Pick your ride to the hotel while trains are still running.
6. At hotel check-in, hand over the original passport for your 24-hour registration.
- Editor checklist before you fly (not one official script): screenshot the arrival-card QR code, finish the Alipay or WeChat identity check if the app asks, keep a phone that can still receive SMS, save your hotel address in Chinese, and unlock two cards for China. Overseas identity checks are not guaranteed for every passport.
- A 240-hour visa-free traveller also gets a temporary-entry sticker in the passport.
Sources: National Immigration Administration, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Municipal People's Government
ATM generally ¥3,000; ISS can walk through a bind
1. Withdraw cash at an ATM with your overseas card.
2. Expect a general ATM limit of 3,000 yuan per withdrawal.
3. Ask the ISS desk to walk you through binding a card to Alipay or WeChat Pay.
4. Keep a few smaller notes as an editor precaution.
- The city pages do not state that small change is scarce.
Sources: Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Municipal People's Government
Passport Wi-Fi, then ISS SIM
1. On the PVG free Wi-Fi login screen, scan the photo page of your passport if you have no Chinese number.
2. Buy a 7-, 15- or 30-day China Telecom SIM with your passport at the Pudong ISS desk in the public arrivals hall.
3. Buy a SIM at a carrier store in the city with your passport.
4. Do not expect the official pages to give a minute for installing or switching on a travel eSIM.
Sources: Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Municipal People's Government
Line 2 / Maglev / Airport Link / 夜宵线; taxi rank as backup
1. Take Metro Line 2 to People's Square: about 7 yuan and about one hour.
2. Or take the Maglev: 50 yuan single, 80 yuan round trip, about 8 minutes, up to 300 km/h.
3. Or take the Airport Link Line: fares from 4 yuan, full PVG–SHA 26 yuan, about 40 minutes.
4. Check that day's last train at the station: the airport group prints 22:15 from PVG, and a traveller reported about 22:39.
5. If you arrive late, the airport-group bus table lists 守航夜宵线 from T1 23:00–05:30 and T2 23:03–05:33 the next day.
6. As a backup, use the official taxi rank: PVG T1 Gate 12, T2 Gate 25; SHA T1 Gate 1, T2 Gate 4.
7. Ask for the meter and keep the receipt.
8. Expect about 180 yuan and 50 minutes from PVG, and about 100–150 yuan and 30 minutes from SHA.
- The last Maglev and Line 2 trains from PVG are not printed as text in the operator's own pages captured this round. Third-party figures of 21:42 and 22:30 stay in the maps-transport notes only.
- The Line 2 fare and time, and the taxi fares and times, are estimates on the city airport-transport page.
Sources: Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Airport Group, Shanghai Airport Group
Front desk takes the original passport
1. Hand your original passport to the hotel front desk.
2. Let the front desk complete your temporary-residence registration.
3. On a 240-hour visa-free stay, they look for the temporary-entry sticker in your passport.
4. If you are not staying in a registered hotel, register within 24 hours of arrival.
5. Carry the original passport, not a copy, after you leave the desk.
Sources: Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, UK FCDO
Traveller tips
- A June 2025 Pudong landing. A traveller landing at Pudong in June 2025 went through fingerprints on a self-service machine, then the arrival card, then the officer. They were visa-free, were not asked for hotel bookings, and only had to confirm a return flight on the card; they used a pre-installed eSIM and kept their home line for SMS. Online arrival-card filling started on 20 November 2025, after this landing. Visit June 2025, before the 20 November 2025 online arrival card. Kiosks and paper cards remain valid on NIA pages. This is one landing, not a claim that 2026 first-timers still skip the online card. (cv-x, 2025-06-24)
- Set up SIM and payment at ISS. At the PVG public arrivals hall, the ISS one-stop desk handles payment support, tourism, mobile communication and a 7-, 15- or 30-day China Telecom SIM with a passport. The 19 March 2026 page describes the same centre type at SHA T1, without reprinting the 7/15/30-day packages. (Shanghai Municipal People's Government, 2026-04-24; Shanghai Municipal People's Government, 2026-03-19)
- Hand your passport to the hotel desk. At a hotel, the original passport is what the front desk uses for check-in. On a 240-hour visa-free stay, they use the temporary-entry sticker in your passport for registration. If you are not staying in a registered hotel, register within 24 hours. Keep the passport out of checked luggage. (Shanghai Municipal People's Government, 2026-08-20; Shanghai Municipal People's Government, 2026-09-22)
- Check late-night transport options. Check that day's late options before you commit: the airport group prints the PVG Airport Link last train at 22:15, and a traveller reported about 22:39, so keep both figures in mind. Check the 守航夜宵线 night bus from 23:00. If you take a taxi, use the official queue only, ignore anyone who approaches you, ask for the meter and keep the receipt. (Shanghai Airport Group; biubiuf, 2026-03-05; loganrb, 2025-12-23; Am0rph, 2026-03-31)
- Add a card, then scan. A traveller on Reddit (December 2025) added a card to Alipay and then used the transport feature to scan into the train. The comment does not name an airport train or a last-train time. (Hot-Cheek-2661, 2025-12-27)
- Follow Airport Link signs, not Line 2. A traveller who used the line in March 2026 reported following the 'Airport Link' signs rather than regular Metro signs, a separate entrance and bag X-ray, and a Hongqiao stop at Terminal 2 rather than the railway station. Tap an eligible contactless card at the gate. The official last train from PVG is 22:15, while this traveller reported about 22:39; the two figures stay in conflict on the maps-transport page. (biubiuf, 2026-03-05)