Best way to spend 5 hours in Shanghai airport?

November 26, 2018 7:09 AM

I will have a 5-hour layover in Shanghai Pudong airport just before Christmas. The layover is between two very long flights. Are there any nice cafés/restaurants/areas to hang out in? Perhaps even shower facilities?

From what I have read online, I don't think any of the lounges have showers, though the info I have found seems to be a bit out of date).

This will also possibly the first time I ever come close to stepping foot in China, so maybe something Chinese would be nice (although I get that airports are the same everywhere).

I don't want to take the risk of leaving the airport, from what I have read, 5 hours is not really enough time to get into Shanghai and back.

Thanks :)

posted by iamsuper to Travel & Transportation around Shanghai, China (7 answers total)

there are showers in the business class lounges. Not sure if Priority Pass will get you into one or if you can buy access.

Otherwise its really a pretty standard large new-ish build global airport. But there will be Chinese food options.
posted by JPD at 7:29 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: you can buy access to the fancy lounge which has showers. i thought there was a cheaper nap room/shower facility option but i guess i was thinking of the hong kong airport instead.
posted by poffin boffin at 7:50 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: We did this a few years ago - there are a fair number of restaurants including Chinese, Western, and Korean if I recall correctly. The terminal we were in was large but fairly quiet; we spent most of the time napping on chairs outside of an empty gate. The restaurants were more expensive than I expected (I think it cost us $30-40 USD for a meal for two), so know your conversion rates before you order if that’s a concern. There were also ramen vending machines.

The only other gotcha is that you’ll need to set up a VPN connection before you get there if you want to use Gmail, Facebook, or many other Western internet sites to entertain yourself while you wait.
posted by asphericalcow at 8:11 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

Consider a round-trip ride on the Shanghai maglev train. At 431 km/h, thetrip from the airport to town takes just over 7 minutes. It is quite an experience to travel at that speed at ground level.
posted by fairmettle at 8:18 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

According to this blog, the priority pass enabled lounge has showers.
posted by sandmanwv at 8:20 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

The maglev train looks seriously cool, but it only leaves you on the outskirts (at a metro station). There may or may not be cool stuff to see/do/eat there, but it's not entirely clear how long it'd take you to venture through the metro.
posted by Quisp Lover at 8:46 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

For anyone with an interest in transportation technology (and an extremely short stopover in Shanghai), the maglev is a destination in itself.

Take a roundtrip on the world's fastest train for only $12.80 and be back at the airport in under half an hour.
posted by fairmettle at 11:55 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]