The largest city in China, Shanghai is a global financial hub drawing business travellers and tourists throughout the year not only for the commercial significance of the city but also to witness the sky-hugging sleek corporate towers, the beautiful waterfront promenade and the protected historical district that takes the visitors on a unique journey back to the early 20th century China. Let us discover how best to get to this prominent city of China.

Shanghai | img via flickr

Numerous International Airlines offer direct flights to Shanghai, which makes it easy for people to visit this exciting city. For those visitors not having a direct air service from your home country to Shanghai, it is also possible to arrive in other cities of China or even in Hong Kong and take a connecting flight to Shanghai.

Direct Flights to Shanghai - These are long-haul flights of approximately 15 hours from the USA/Canada, 11 hours from the United Kingdom and some parts of Europe and nearly 11 hours from Australia to arrive in Shanghai. From different parts of Asia, it can be approximately 7 hours or less. It is best to verify the time taken for your direct flight with the airline when you book so that you are well-prepared for the journey.

Travelling via another city in China or via Hong Kong – For certain international passengers, if there are no direct flights operated from their country to Shanghai a good alternative is travelling via Beijing, Guangzhou, Xi’an or Hong Kong as appropriate. Travel time from all these cities to Shanghai is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, except for Hong Kong which is approximately 3 hours.

Planning your travel to Shanghai well in advance is ideal to benefit from Shanghai accommodation deals.

Some travellers such as those staying at properties like Citadines Hongqiao Center Shanghai plan to arrive on a direct flight to Beijing, Guangzhou, Xi’an or Hong Kong as appropriate and opt to use the high-speed train service rather than take the flight.

Although travel time by train is much longer, these passengers consider the time taken for airport formalities, security checks and travel from the airport to the accommodation plus in certain instances, flight delays taking place which makes the connection on high-speed rail not so bad. In the case of visitors arriving on a direct flight to Hong Kong, using the train to Shanghai, the scenic route used by the high-speed train between Hong Kong Kowloon Station to Shanghai Hongqiao Railway a popular choice.

As most international passengers travel by air for at least part of the way to arrive in Shanghai, it is best to be aware of peak travel periods in this busy city.

Travel into Shanghai during periods such as the Chinese New Year, usually in February and during summer vacation, which is from July to September, and other Chinese Public Holidays will make airfares more expensive. Furthermore, reserving your seats in advance will be required if you plan to travel dates during these periods.

Shanghai offers a range of accommodation options. Elegant hotels on skyscrapers, historic hotels, boutique hotels and an array of bed and breakfast options to suit different fancies and budgets from luxury to moderate to cheap ones.

The good news is that at most of these properties, you can request a discount and will be obliged except during the peak times in Shanghai which were noted above.

The general room charges for these three types in Chinese Yuan are,

Luxury Hotels - Over 2,500 Yuan

Moderate Hotels - Between 1,000 to 2500 Yuan

Cheap Hotels - Up to 1,000 Yuan