Chinese airports are modern, well-signed in English, and staffed by people who will help if you ask directly. The friction is concentrated in three places: immigration, the taxi rank, and the payment for whatever you take out of it.
The sequence
- 1Arrival card, on the plane
Fill it in before landing. You need your first-night address in Chinese characters — screenshot it before you fly.
- 2Immigration
Foreign-passport lanes are marked. Expect 10–40 minutes at Pudong, Beijing Capital and Baiyun; longer if two wide-bodies land together.
- 3Baggage and customs
Green channel unless you are carrying over $5,000 cash or restricted goods. Declarations are taken seriously.
- 4Currency or connectivity
ATMs are in the arrivals hall before customs exit. Airport SIM counters exist but are slow; a travel eSIM avoids this entirely.
- 5Transport into the city
Metro, airport express train, taxi rank, or a pre-booked car. Decide before you land, not while holding two suitcases.
Getting into the city: the honest comparison
| City / airport | Metro or rail | Taxi | Pre-booked car |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Pudong (PVG) | Maglev ¥50 to Longyang Rd, then metro | ¥160–220, 50–70 min | ¥280–350 |
| Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) | Metro Line 10, ¥6 | ¥80–120 | ¥200–260 |
| Beijing Capital (PEK) | Airport Express ¥25 to Dongzhimen | ¥100–130, 40–60 min | ¥250–320 |
| Beijing Daxing (PKX) | Daxing Airport Express ¥35 | ¥180–220 | ¥320–400 |
| Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) | Metro Line 3, ¥7–10 | ¥120–150 | ¥260–330 |
| Chengdu Tianfu (TFU) | Metro Line 18, ¥8 | ¥150–190 | ¥300–380 |
| Xi’an Xianyang (XIY) | Airport intercity rail ¥16 | ¥100–130 | ¥250–320 |
The metro is excellent if you are travelling light and arriving before 22:00. It is the wrong choice with three bags, a child, or a landing after the last train.
The taxi rank: two things to know
Use the official rank, follow the queue, and ignore anyone who approaches you inside the terminal asking “taxi?”. Those are not taxis. At the rank, the dispatcher will note your destination — if you cannot say it in Chinese, show the address on your phone.
Metered fares are cheap by European standards: Pudong to the Bund is around ¥180. Drivers do not expect tips. If the meter is not running, get out.
The transfer decision
A pre-booked car costs roughly 60–100% more than a taxi and removes every decision: the driver waits with a name board, handles the bags, knows the hotel entrance, and is paid in advance. For a first arrival in a country where you do not speak the language, that is usually worth it.
We include airport pickup in most multi-day itineraries, and the driver is the same person who will drive you the following morning — which means your first conversation about the trip happens in the car, not in a lobby.