On my way to visit my best friend in South Korea, I first had to stop in Shanghai, China for a 17.5 hour layover. While many would view this as a major inconvenience, I saw it as an opportunity to get a glimpse of a country that I had never before visited.

So what does a person do with less than 24 hours in a brand new country? Whether you have a long layover in Shanghai up ahead and want ideas and tips on how to handle it or you’re just curious about how I spent my time there, here is a detailed post on how I spent 17 hours in Shanghai.

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6:30pm: The plane landed in Pudong International Airport.

After getting off the plane, I went into the Foreign passport line and then the “24 Hour Visa-Free” line. If you are staying longer than 24 hours, you will have to apply for a visa. The next step up was a 72 Hour Visa which sounds simple enough to obtain – from my understanding you just let a member of your flight team know you intend to apply for one before landing and they will help you get started on the papers, and then at the airport you go into the line labeled accordingly. Here is a very useful website on China’s Visa information: China Visa Exemption. It took about an hour and a half to get through customs and collect my baggage. Admittedly it was a little bit intimidating and it didn’t help that the space was not air conditioned, leaving me a hot and sweaty mess.

8:00pm: Rode the Maglev.

One of the few things I did research ahead of time was how best to get to my hotel (on the Bund) from the airport. Many suggested taking the Maglev to Long Yang Road Station from which you can then get a taxi to take you the rest of the way or transfer to the Metro. Taking the Maglev will save you time and money versus taking a taxi the entire way, especially directly from the airport where taxis are sure to jack up the prices. But besides the practical reasoning behind taking the Maglev, I also wanted to experience riding it because it is “the fastest commercial high-speed electric train in the world“! At full speed, this train reaches 431 km/h (268 mph), going the distance of 30 km (18.6 mi) in 7 minutes and 20 seconds.

You can easily follow the signage around the airport to make your way to the Maglev. Next to the entrance, there is a counter selling tickets. A single trip costs 50 Yuan (about $7.30 USD at the time of this post), a roundtrip ticket costs 80 Yuan (about $11.60 USD at the time of this post). You can view the pricing info on the Shanghai Maglev Official website. They did accept my credit card for payment.

The ride was short and sweet. The city flashed by at lightening speeds outside the window as the train cut smoothly through the landscape. And just as I began to settle in, the trip was already over. After arriving at Long Yang Road Station from the Maglev, you can transfer to the Metro Line 2 to East Nanjing Road Road, which takes about 20 minutes, and walk about 5 minutes to the Bund from there. That was what I originally was planning to do, but due to all of my baggage I chose to take a taxi.

8:10pm: Unpleasant taxi ride.

TIP #1: IF YOU PLAN ON LEAVING THE AIRPORT, GET SOME CHINESE CURRENCY.

I didn’t think that this would be necessary because I have an international travel credit card, but I learned the hard way.

At the station they assured me that the taxi drivers would take my credit card so I need not bother converting money. After about 20 minutes as we reach my hotel, I offer my card to the driver and am meeted with “CASH ONLY” and a slur of angry Chinese. He promptly drives me to an ATM and insists I try to convert money with my credit card, not understanding my response that it will not work because it is a credit card. He takes the card from me and tries it himself. Obviously, it doesn’t work. This goes on for some time and he even drives me to another ATM to try, ignoring my response that it won’t work. Eventually I think to offer some of the Korean Won I had brought for my impending visit to South Korea. He pauses his angry muttering in Chinese and ends up taking 150,000 won, the equivalent of about $150 USD. It was a harsh blow, but by this point I had realized my position as a young, American, solo-traveling female in the back of his car – him being a large, muscular, and intimidating man. $150 was a small price to pay in comparison to having everything I own stolen or worse.

9:30pm: Arrived at hotel, Les Suites Orient Bund Shanghai

When choosing where to stay for my overnight visit to the city, I originally looked for Airbnbs or cheaper hotels. But after thinking about the fact that I was literally only going to be there a night and that I would not have time to explore Shanghai’s Bund if I was located further out, I decided to treat myself.

The Les Suites Orient Bund Shanghai was a gorgeous, 4-star hotel directly on the main street of the Bund and it only cost a total of $157 USD including tax for my one night. That was only $60 more than I would have paid for many of the small Airbnbs that weren’t nearly as close to the Bund that I desired to discover. I am beyond glad that I made this choice and would highly recommend others to do the same if they can.

Les Suites Orient Bund Shanghai was by far the nicest hotel that I have yet had the pleasure of staying at. It was modern, clean, full of chic decor, and very updated. The toilet in my room even had a heated seat! The staff was extremely helpful, attentive, and spoke very good English which was a lifesaver for me. During my check in, I was surprised to receive a complimentary upgrade from my regular Bund View Room to a Bund View Suite! Definitely helped to put me in a better mood after that taxi ride. If you’d like to see a tour of my room, make sure to watch the YouTube video above. You can read more about Les Suites Orient on their website or on TripAdvisor.

This hotel was definitely the highlight of my short visit in Shanghai. If not for this hotel and its breathtaking view and hospitality of its staff, I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed my short time in China as much as I did (you’ll find out the number of reasons why throughout this post). Upon settling in I did realize a couple things though…

TIP #2: REMEMBER, CHINA HAS FACEBOOK AND ALL GOOGLE RELATED SITES AND APPS BLOCKED.

I had definitely heard this before, but as a naive, first-time traveler in China I had completely forgotten. This wasn’t too big of a deal, but I had previously been communicating with friends and family back home using Facebook Messenger and needed a way to tell them I got to China safely. Messenger didn’t work. Gmail didn’t work. After searching through my phone, I found that Instagram and Snapchat would work. Alternatively, if you plan ahead, you can prepare a VPN number. This will allow you to access the internet from that VPN, pinpointing your internet access from the United States for example rather than China which allows you to access otherwise blocked sites in China. My hotel actually had a VPN number prepared for foreign guests to use, but it unfortunately did not work for my phone. The hotel staff was very helpful and committed to trying though!

TIP #3: THE PLUG POWER OUTLETS ARE NOT THE SAME.

This one may seem obvious, but I am embarrassed to admit I had forgotten about this. I really wasn’t planning ahead at all for this layover in China what with South Korea being the end goal on my mind. Luckily, the hotel that I stayed at had plug outlet converters for United States plugs. #Blessed. It wouldn’t have been the end of the world if they hadn’t as I was only staying a night, but I would have had to be a bit more conservative with my phone battery (not terribly hard to do when you can only use two of the apps!).

After settling into my hotel, figuring out the wifi and how to communicate with friends and family, I was finally ready to get out of the hotel and try to soak in as much of Shanghai’s downtown as I possibly could in what little time I had left.

11:00pm: Walked along the Bund.

TIP #4: THE CITY SHUT DOWN AT 11:00PM.

Literally one minute I am enjoying the bright, entrancing lights of the exotic buildings along the Bund outside the window of my hotel room and then the next thing I know they are nearly all turned off. Likely as some sort of effort against light pollution. Once again, I had not done my research ahead of time or I would have probably known this would happen. Regardless, it was a little disappointing as my plans for the late night consisted of walking along the Bund and soaking in the views of these majestic structures all aglow. This development wasn’t going to stop me though.

I left the hotel and made my way across the street to the pedestrian walkway alongside the river. The walkway was lit with lamps and small groups of people still milled about despite the late hour and the lights of the extravagant buildings being nearly all turned off for the night. There was just enough light to still get some good selfies though.

Be aware – there were a handful of beggars along the length of the walkway. They were all harmless, but all seemed to carry flowers which they would try giving to any and all passerbys and were extremely persistent with. I just kept my eye on them and gave them a wide berth as I made my way alongside the river.

11:30pm: Saw the Shanghai Bull statue.

The Shanghai Bull, or the Bund Bull, is a menacing bronze bull sculpture mimicking the famous New York City Charging Bull, both created by the same artist. More red and muscular than NYC’s bull, it is meant to represent China’s growing financial centre and rivalry with New York’s. Rivalries aside, it’s a very cool monument to see in person. While you’re there you’d might as well get a picture with it too. It’s popularity as a tourist attraction is apparent by the police guard standing nearby at all hours. Even when I came close to midnight, a small group of people waited in line to approach the statue and get a picture taken beside it.

12:00am: Found a bar that was open: Blues & Jazz.

Street after street I walked along was dark, seemingly asleep for the night much to my disappointment. Finally I stumbled across a street with two lit signs on either side – a coffee shop and a bar. The sound of lively music spilled from the bar onto the street and women in elegant, 50’s style dresses mingled outside it as they smoked their cigarettes. Here was the most life I had encountered all night.

Inside I was greeted by a retro bar scene, complete with a live Jazz band. Most of the patrons were garbed in old-fashioned clothing, either swing dancing on the wooden floor in front of the band or tapping their feet in time to the music as they sipped cocktails at the bar. There were many foreigners among the crowd besides myself. I found a barstool available and ordered a “Pretty Lady” cocktail for something like 80 Yuan, about $11.50 USD. Then I people watched and listened to the band. Once I finished my drink, I decided to depart and continue my search for other gems such as this one that were still awake in the city.

1:00am: Headed back to the hotel.

Continuing my hunt for other establishments to add to my Shanghai experience, I cut across different roads and wandered down many side streets. At this point in my wandering I began to feel uneasy. The streets were dead except for the occasional group of figures talking in the darkness up ahead, which I avoided. Once again if I had done my research ahead of time I would have probably known that the city shut down so early. I had assumed for sure in a city this size, in the very downtown area filled with tourists that there would be some sort of late night activity. Disappointed, I decided to head back to my hotel room. My hotel was gorgeous and I would make the most of it with a relaxing evening. Not what I had hoped for from my 17 hours in Shanghai, but enjoyable nonetheless.

TIP #5: IF YOU PLAN ON LEAVING THE AIRPORT, GET SOME CHINESE CURRENCY.

Yes, this is the same as Tip #1. This is because on my walk back to the hotel, I stopped by several 24 hour convenience stores in search of snacks and wine and none of them would accept my credit card. It seemed as if they didn’t accept Mastercard or Visa, only their Chinese brand I had never heard of. Luckily, my hotel saved the day once again as they had a fully stocked liquor cabinet.

2:00am: Checked out the hotel’s 24-hour lounge.

On the way up to my room, I decided to make a pit stop at the 24-hour lounge that the hotel staff member had told me about when I first checked in. It was on the third floor of the building, facing the Bund with many large windows to enjoy the view. The room itself was large and filled with chic couches and furnishings, and glass coffee tables covered in an endless variety of magazines and newspapers. Off to one side of the room, a long table sat against the wall covered in glass-lidded biscuits and cookies, a water dispenser, and coffee. Inlaid in the wall of the entrance was an expresso machine and tea maker. I indulged myself in a handful of cookies, having never found a place to eat earlier, and a cup of expresso.

2:30am: Spent the rest of the evening relaxing in my luxurious hotel room.

Between the caffeine buzz and time difference, I was ready to make the most of my remaining time in Shanghai despite the time, even if it was just going to be in my hotel room. Like I mentioned earlier, my hotel room was nice. Real nice. Spending a night in making the most of my luxurious room was by no means a chore. In a wooden cabinet in my suite’s bedroom was an array of different alcohols including a small bottle of red wine and various glasses. There was also a mini fridge within the cabinet containing more liquor and even a Snickers bar. I poured myself a glass of the red wine and indulged in the Snickers bar while I filled the bathtub with hot water. The bathtub was modern and big enough for me to lay in comfortably. Beside the bath was a large window facing the stunning views of the Bund, partly cut off to maintain modesty. If I got bored of the view, above the bath was a TV. Scanning the channels and sipping on my wine, I ended up watching The Forest. The only thing that could have improved the experience was if the hotel had had bath bubbles to use. After all of the muscle stiffness from the 14 hour flight had dissipated and the small bottle of wine was emptied, I called it a night.

8:00am: Woke up and got ready to leave.

Although I had set an alarm for 7:00am in the hopes of partaking in the complimentary hotel breakfast, I had overslept a smidge and had to move straight to packing up to leave. Luckily I had packed granola bars and fruit snacks so I wasn’t completely out of luck. Based on the rest of my experience at Les Suites Orient I’m positive the breakfast would have been lovely though. Sigh.

With last night’s taxi experience fresh in my mind, as I checked out at the front desk I made sure to ask how best to get back to the airport with only a credit card for payment. I had already checked if Uber was available here the night before and of course it wasn’t. The man at the front desk paused and replied that without booking some sort of shuttle online far in advance, there was no form of transport I could use a credit card for to get to the airport immediately. At this point, a taxi was my best option and they only accepted cash. Crap. He saw the look of panic on my face and asked if I was positive I didn’t have any Chinese money, just the credit card. Unfortunately yes because I failed researching this issue ahead of time. The man leans in and tells me, he isn’t supposed to do this (it’s against the law in China apparently?), but he would charge my credit card for the amount needed for the taxi ride and give it to me in cash. #BLESSED. He did this, told me that if they asked for any more than this amount then they were trying to rip me off, and even called the cab up for me himself. I am eternally grateful. Seriously my experience at this hotel from start to finish was one of helpfulness and hospitality and I can’t recommend it enough.

8:30am: Another unpleasant taxi ride.

When the taxi arrived a few minutes later, the driver put my bags in the trunk and we were on our way. This time the trip was directly from my hotel on the Bund all the way to Pudong International Airport. It was about a 40 minute ride. The driver talked on his phone in Chinese as I enjoyed the sights of Shanghai in the daylight pass by. The hotel worker had given me 200 Yuan to give to the driver (about $29 USD at the time of this post). Upon reaching the airport, I handed the money to the driver to which he started laughing in my face. “200?? 250!” he spat (250 Yuan is about $36 USD at the time of this post). I told him that 200 Yuan was truly all I had and that is how much the hotel had told me it would cost. “250!” he repeated, this time more angrily. I sat there dumfounded, tired, and confused. It was then I think he connected that that was all I had in Chinese currency. “US dollar!” I realized I did have $8 in ones I had planned to use for toll roads on my drive back home from the Chicago airport in a few days. I hurriedly grabbed it out of my purse. He took it all, got out of the car, and took my bags out from the trunk. Ok then. Definitely not nearly as traumatizing as my taxi experience from the night before, but still unpleasant.

9:00am: Back at Pudong International Airport.

Inside the airport, I was greeted with a sea of check-in counters as far as I could see in either direction surrounded by bustling people of all nationalities. Luckily there were large clearly labeled maps of the area so I could easily locate the check-in counter for my airline, China Eastern Airlines. Like any other airport, there was a long, wrapping line for check-in, but it moved quickly as there were many check-in counters available. The line for security check divided up into five or six individual lines to pass through scanners, making the process quicker than many of the security checks I’d experienced in the U.S. A couple other interesting differences to note: 1. I did not have to remove my shoes and put them in the bin. 2. I had to present my passport and flight tickets to the person working the body scanning machine, even though I had already shown it to the staff at the beginning of the security process. 3. I had to make sure to remove my external battery pack from my purse so that they could look it over (the only technology I have had to remove completely from my bags before was a laptop).

With a couple hours to spare after making it through check-in and airport security, I searched for something to eat. It was interesting to note the lack of “American food” options within the airport. This was definitely not a problem, but not something I had experienced before. Although part of me felt as if I should have something Chinese since I didn’t have a chance to experience it the night before, I came across a Traditional Korean food restaurant a short walk from my terminal. After browsing the menu and getting a waft of the spicy noodle dishes coming from inside, I decided to eat there. I ordered a kimchi ramen dish and tea. It was delicious and had me even more excited to begin the next leg of my adventure.

12:00pm: Off to South Korea!

The time had come to board the plane and make the 3 hour journey to my final destination: Seoul, South Korea and my best friend Erica.

Although my short time in Shanghai was filled with ups and downs, I am truly grateful that I had the opportunity to experience a tiny piece of China. The stunning view of the buildings lining the Bund of Shanghai all aglow in their majesty will forever be burned in my memory. I learned a lot from this experience and am excited to someday return to China more prepared and with more time to explore the country.

Are you planning to have a long layover in Shanghai?

If you’re facing a long layover in Shanghai or even if you’re planning a trip there, I hope that my experience may come in handy to you. Learn from my mistakes! Plan ahead! Bring Chinese currency! If possible, plan your time in Shanghai to be during the day rather than through the night so you can experience more!

If you know someone planning a trip to Shanghai, you can easily share this post using the social icons below or save it for later using one of the Pinterest images below. If you enjoyed the YouTube video that was made along with this post, make sure to give it a “thumbs up” and subscribe to my YouTube channel. I would greatly appreciate it! Stay tuned for the next blog post and YouTube video about my visit to South Korea. Until then, you can follow me on Facebook and Instagram for updates. Thank you for stopping by. See you again soon!