Arrival in Shanghai can be an exhausting affair. By air you'll arrive at either the new Pudong International Airport, 45km east of the city along the mouth of the Yangzi River, or at the old Hongqiao airport, 15km west of the city. Pudong, which opened on National Day 1999, will eventually handle most international flights, with the far smaller Hongqiao continuing to service domestic flights. A taxi from Pudong to the Bund should cost around ¥80, to Nanjing Xi Lu around ¥100, but you can board a far cheaper airport bus to the China Eastern Airlines office on Yan'an Lu (about an hour and a half), more or less opposite the Exhibition Centre - very handy for a number of five-star hotels in the vicinity, but still 3km from the Bund. From Hongqiao, a taxi to Nanjing Xi Lu costs about ¥45, and to the Bund about ¥60; there's also an airport bus service to the China Eastern Airlines office on Yan'an Lu (¥5). In addition there are two useful public bus services that run from the airport to the train station and Renmin Square, respectively, although each of these bus stations can be hard to find. Bus #328, which departs from a stop in the parking lot directly in front of Hongqiao, runs directly to Shanghai train station (¥2). There is also a public bus running directly from the airport to a stop right in front of the Shanghai Museum on Renmin Square, downtown (¥3). Called the "Airport Express" (or feijichang tekuai qiche in Chinese), this service runs from a bus stop behind Hongqiao's international flight terminal, across the street from the airport's main cargo terminal (ask passers-by for exact directions, as the stop is easily missed). Each of these bus rides from Hongqiao can take up to an hour depending on traffic.

 

The main train station - Shanghai Station - is to the north of Suzhou Creek. Its vast concrete forecourt is a seething mass of encamped peasants at all hours, and it's not a particularly safe place to hang around at night. City buses are not an easy way to get out of the station area; fortunately, however, line #1 of Shanghai's new underground metro network begins and ends here, which is very convenient if your hotel happens to be near a station on the line. Bus #328 also runs directly from here to Hongqiao Airport (¥2) Otherwise, your best bet by far is to take a taxi, which shouldn't cost more than ¥15-20. There's an official rank outside the station and no trouble with drivers hustling foreigners. Another station in the remote northwest of town, Shanghai West Station , is the terminus for a few long-distance trains, such as the train from Inner Mongolia. This is linked to the metro and taxi rank at the main station by bus #106.

Hardly any tourists arrive in Shanghai by bus , and one good reason to avoid trying to do this is that you might be dropped somewhere in the remote outskirts of the city. Some services use the bus station on Qiujiang Lu, just west of Henan Bei Lu, and a few private buses terminate at the train station itself, but generally speaking it's pot luck where you end up.

Probably the nicest way to arrive in Shanghai is by boat , whether from Japan, Korea or the towns along the coast or inland up the Yangzi. The Yangzi ferries and coastal boats to and from Ningbo, Wenzhou and Putuo Shan sail south right past the Bund to the Shiliupu wharf , linked by bus #55 to the northern end of the Bund. Coastal boats to and from Qingdao, Dalian and Fuzhou use the Gongping Lu wharf , which is only about twenty minutes' walk to the northeast of the Bund or a short ride on bus #135, while boats from Japan and South Korea dock at the International passenger quay , about five minutes' walk east from the Pujiang Hotel.