Originally Posted by
nologic
Has anyone done this lately? Are you saying that I can go thru customs in Shanghai and just show the Immigration Officer a print out of an e-ticket within 24 hours from PVG-HKG, and then I can leave the airport, go into Shanghai, spend two days, and return within 48 hours, all without a Chinese visa?
Alternatively, I presume I can obviously transit within the airport from AA-CX without a visa and without going thru customs and immigration (although will my bag be checked thru if I am on two separate tickets)?
AA says the minimum connection time is 2 hours? Seems like a long time for intransit within PVG airport.
Not exactly. You must be going from one country through China to ANOTHER country. If you would read the second Sticky at the top of this Forum, it will make Transit Without Visa clear. HKG-PVG-HKG is not an international transit. HKG-PVG-ICN is.
But if your itinerary qualifies, then as long as your passport is on the Favored List you can have up to 48 hours. Note that's not defined as "return to the airport" but is time gap between
scheduled inbound arrival and
scheduled outbound departure. To see if your passport gets 48 hours, again, this information is in the aforementioned Sticky. All Non-favored passports get standard 24 hours.
As stated by someone else above, you have NO option to stay airside without going through immigration, whether entering on a visa or whether doing international Transit Without Visa.