Skip to content
Shanghai Story Map上海故事地图
Menu

Shanghai layover calculator

Enter when you land and when you fly on. We count back from your next flight and show how long you would have in each part of the city, and which of our walks fits.

Allowances: change them to suit your trip

Your airline sets the check-in deadline, so ask it what to allow. Each metro ride also gets 20 extra minutes for walking to the platform and waiting.

Enter your two flight times

Use Shanghai local time, as printed on your tickets.

Check your full route in the visa checkerRead the layover guide

Sources

  1. 1.NIA visa-free transit policies, 240-hour (57 countries, 65 ports, 24 provinces) and 24-hour port transit (Visa-Free Transit Policies (policy interpretation)), National Immigration Administration of the PRC, 2026official-list
  2. 2.Shanghai government FAQ, a round trip to the same country does not qualify for visa-free transit (If I am a citizen of Australia and plan to book a Sydney-Shanghai-Melbourne ticket, will I be eligible for the 240-hour visa-free transit?), Shanghai Municipal People's Government (English portal), 2024website
  3. 3.Transportation at Shanghai airports (Transportation at Shanghai airports (updated 4 June 2026)), Shanghai Municipal People's Government (English portal), 2026website
  4. 4.Shanghai airport rail link cuts transit time to 40 mins (30 December 2024) (Shanghai airport rail link cuts transit time to 40 mins), Shanghai Municipal People's Government (English portal), 2024article
  5. 5.Do I need to store my luggage during my layover in Shanghai? (Shanghai Airport Authority FAQ) (Do I need to store my luggage during my layover in Shanghai?), Shanghai Municipal People's Government (English portal), source Shanghai Airport Authority, 2025website