Shanghai Hongqiao Airport (SHA): the HSR-hub airport

SHA sits 13 km west of the city and is genuinely well-connected. Metro Line 2 and Line 10 both serve Terminal 2; Line 10 also serves Terminal 1. Line 2 or 10 to People's Square takes about 35-40 minutes for ¥4-5; the Bund is roughly 50-55 minutes; Line 10 runs straight to the Former French Concession in ~33 minutes. A taxi or DiDi runs ¥50-75 and ~25-40 minutes off-peak. Because SHA is close to the city and the metro runs right under the terminals, there is rarely a reason to do anything more complicated than tap into the metro.

Yes — and that is SHA's defining feature. SHA Terminal 2, Hongqiao Railway Station and the long-distance bus station form one integrated Hongqiao Transportation Hub. From T2 arrivals the walk is about 10-15 minutes without checked bags (20-30 minutes including bag claim): take the lift or escalator UP to Level 3 and follow the 火车站 (Railway Station) signs — do not go down to B1, which is the longer way. Lifts and travelators run the whole way, so big luggage is fine. That makes SHA the natural airport for a multi-city China trip: land, walk to the platforms, and board a high-speed train to Suzhou (23 min), Hangzhou (45 min), Nanjing or Beijing without crossing the city.

SHA (Hongqiao) is 13 km west of central Shanghai, handles mostly domestic flights plus regional international routes (Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taipei — resumed since March 2023, at low volume), and shares one complex with Hongqiao Railway Station. PVG (Pudong) is 30 km east and handles most international long-haul flights. The two airports are about 40 km apart on opposite sides of the city — always confirm which one your ticket uses. Between them, the Airport Link Line runs ~40 minutes of train time (¥26), about an hour all-in.

SHA has Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Terminal 2 is the large domestic terminal inside the Hongqiao hub complex — Metro Line 2 and Line 10 both serve it (虹桥2号航站楼 station). Terminal 1 is older and handles the regional international routes — it has its own Metro Line 10 stop (虹桥1号航站楼 station). They are different buildings with different metro stations, so check your boarding pass for the terminal before choosing a stop.

Yes. The Airport Link Line (市域机场线, opened December 2024) connects the Hongqiao hub directly to PVG in about 40 minutes of train time — roughly an hour all-in — for ¥26, with trains every ~15 minutes. It also stops at Shanghai International Resort (Disneyland) en route. Metro Line 2 crosses the whole city between the two airports as well, but is much slower. For a PVG-in / SHA-out itinerary (or the reverse), the Airport Link Line is the connection to use.

SHA handles mostly domestic flights, but Terminal 1 serves international and regional routes and has departure tax-refund (离境退税) facilities for eligible international departures. If you are leaving China on an international flight from SHA T1, process the refund in the international departures area after check-in. For most travelers the bigger VAT-refund operation is at PVG — that is where the long-haul international flights concentrate.

Only if your trip is genuinely HSR- or airport-heavy. The Hongqiao area has reliable business hotels (Hilton, Marriott, Renaissance, Cordis at Hongqiao Tiandi) and removes a cross-city transfer before an early SHA flight or a morning high-speed train. But Hongqiao is a transport-and-business district, not a place to spend evenings — it is 50-55 minutes by metro from the Bund and the dining is mall-based. For a normal Shanghai visit, stay central and accept one metro ride on departure day.