Upon arrival in any city, there are standard things a traveler wants: a clean, polished, and well-organized airport, quick and convenient transportation to and from the airport, and a comfortable place to sleep at the end of the day.

Here’s what I found in Shanghai.

Glass Constructs
On one of my flights to Shanghai, China, we flew over the Pacific Ocean at night, so it was dark most of the trip. As we approached the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, it was quite a relief to see the flood of the lights coming from within the airport―through the airport’s glass exterior. It has been my observation that most airports in China have a similar style of construction of mainly glass exteriors.

East Side versus West Side
The Hongqiao Airport, located on the west side of Shanghai town, is generally considered a domestic airport that offers limited international flights. While the Pudong Airport, located on Shanghai’s east side, is considered the “main” international airport.

Levitation Made Easy
If you have an opportunity to take the Maglev train from the Pudong Airport into town, you will be very impressed. This train is extremely clean and modern. Oh, and I think it goes about 268 miles per hour! The magnetic levitation ride is so smoothly that as the speed increases you won’t want to believe the speedometer on the display at the front of the car. The Maglev is even more impressive when you watch it from the ground as it flashes past you at an unimaginable speed! It is amazing, and you can catch it at the Pudong Airport.

Go Happy! Go hojo
Whenever you need to stay in a hotel near the Honqiao Airport, I can tell you that I was very impressed with the Howard Johnson Hotel. They provide a shuttle and the hotel is very clean and modern.

Enjoy your trip!
Beau