Originally Posted by
LHR/MEL/Europe FF
You will be fine. Hundreds of people use TWOV every day. You have a good buffer in shanghai before your cruise, and will get out to the airport in good time at your point of origin.
You're probably right. That being said, I know three people who were denied tourist visas to visit China -- none of whom thought they were at risk of being denied a visa. One had booked a very expensive tour in an alumni group with his wife. While those three found out when their tourist visas were rejected, I suspect it would have been a much more difficult situation if they were at PVG immigration.
Certainly, most people don't have issues with getting tourist visas but some do -- and that's in addition to issues regarding TWOV interpretation.
Seems to me if I was doing a cheap fare to PVG for a weekend, the risk of either having TWOV issues or being denied admission isn't that significant. On the other hand, if I was joining a very expensive tour it would be. So, if we're an exchange of information on FT rather than promoting or advocating, we should identify the risk. As the US State Department advises: "Exercise increased caution in China due
to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws."