{"id":7132,"date":"2026-09-14T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/warmcheaptrips.com\/?p=7132"},"modified":"2026-09-06T08:20:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T06:20:40","slug":"shanghai-in-a-day-stopover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/warmcheaptrips.com\/en\/shanghai-in-a-day-stopover\/","title":{"rendered":"Visiting Shanghai in a day: what to see during a stopover"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After having had a stopover in Shanghai four times, flying with China Eastern<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, we decided that on our way back from our honeymoon in New Zealand and the Cook Islands<\/b><\/a><\/span>, we would make the most of a longer stopover and spend a day in the city, finally taking the opportunity to visit Shanghai in one day.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just over 24 hours, arriving in the morning and leaving the following day, gave us enough time to visit the most iconic sights of this Chinese city, whose Pudong Airport is one of the busiest hubs on the continent<\/strong> and where you might well find yourself having a stopover too when flying to Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here is an article with useful information and the itinerary I followed to visit Shanghai in one day, joining the other articles in my “Cities in One Day<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/span>” series, where I make the most of the limited time available to visit the most iconic places in each city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do You Need a Visa to Visit Shanghai?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first question that naturally comes to mind is, of course, the visa situation. At the time of our trip and while writing this article (May and September 2026 respectively), many countries’ citizens can now visit China for up to 30 days without applying for a visa<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even before this visa exemption (which started at the end of 2023), it was still possible to visit Shanghai without applying for a visa by using the “transit visa-free<\/strong>” policy, which allowed travelers to leave the airport for a limited period of time (initially 72 hours, later extended to 144 hours), provided that the flight arrived from one country (for example Italy) and the onward flight was to another (for example Japan).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before arriving, however, you need to fill in the online Arrival Card, on the official Chinese website<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/span> and, once at the airport, register your fingerprints at the machines before joining the immigration queue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arriving at 7am, we were already outside the international arrivals area and ready to explore Shanghai in less than an hour!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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