PVG to French Concession?
 

We're staying in Shanghai one night as a stopover; I quite fancy trying to Maglev train from PVG airport to get into Shanghai (hotel in French Concession area) - having never been to China before, I wondered if Maglev train then Shanghai metro system is a viable option for getting to our hotel?

Line 2 to Nanjing East Rd. & Line 10 from there will get you to Xintiandi. Either from the Maglev terminus or PVG. Avoid line 2 from Dongchang Rd. onwards during 7-9 am and 4-6 pm as it will fill up to the brink when crossing the river.

Which hotel? The French Concession is deceptively large, and its boundaries changed over time. Line 7 pass and line 10 pass through most of it.

by far the easiest will be to catch a taxi once you get off the maglev. The cost from the maglev station to your hotel should be around RMB50-55 (maybe a little more if traffic is very heavy). It will save you having to negotiate the metro which can get very busy (depending on what time you're using it).

The taxi rank at the maglev station is easy to find (walk over a bridge and down an escalator - do not go down the escalator before crossing over the (short) bridge). It is a controlled and supervised rank.

Was just looking for the best way to get downtown from PVG and came across this post. Not speaking the language at all makes getting into the city a bit daunting but I'm hoping a trip on the Maglev then a taxi will be the best approach.

Would it be easy enough getting a taxi back to the Maglev successfully without speaking a word of the local tongue?

Excellent information LHR/MEL/Europe FF, thank you.

yes - getting to Maglev is ok - provided you know the name of the station, and if the taxi driver understands your pronunciation! (The station is Loyang-lu.) If you have bags with you that is usually the giveaway :) but you can always get the hotel to help you with the pronunciation or write it down. Someone told me how to pronounce the word for 'maglev' but I almost instantly forgot it. and I doubt the taxi would have understood my butchery of it anyway :)

Cifu longyang.

Check the approximate price back at the front desk of your hotel. Quite a few drivers try to "take you for a ride" on this stretch if you do not seem to have local street smarts.

I just saw this thread and will share my not so good experience. I went PVG tp Maglev train station then grabbed a cab. The cab driver told me to 12 at hengshen was roughly 400 RMB. I got there and the meter read 580, then he said you owe me highway service of 100 RMB and luggage service of 100RMB. i told him to get lost and paid the 580 RMB, unfortunately once i saw the meter i never really watched it so cant say if it was broken or what but it said 580 when i looked up at the hotel.

Unfortunately you got stung. If this happens to anyone else, the best thing you can do is take the receipt and ask the hotel to contact the taxi company.

The government takes a negative view on this type of behaviour and the resulting action is swift and severe. There are other reports of this happening and not only does the taxi company come to your hotel and refund the money and apologise, but the driver is also out of a job (drastic? yes, but for an excess fare of ~RMB530 it is worth it to keep people honest).

I think it is safe to say (touch wood) that crimes against westerners are rare and the government wants to keep it that way.

thanks LHR, live and learn

580 + 100+ 100= total 780 RMB x 2= 1560 RMB.

This is the standard amount the driver should pay you as
a consequence of getting caught cheating, which would result in
a 2-3 month unpaid layoff from his job.

While not excusing the taxi driver, I wonder how much was down to him and how much is down to the taxi marshaller at the rank at the maglev station.

I have noticed a couple of times there is a youngish guy, very cocky, and he enters into a long conversation with the driver whenever a westerner is about to take a cab. Gut feeling is that they are trying their best to rip the person off. His usual tactic is to ask, in chinese, where the person wants to go and if the westerner responds in a way that they have no idea what he's saying then the long conversations begin. Same guy was very surprised when i answered in Chinese (and I got to my apartment for the standard price).

I have also been told that a residential address puts you a fair way down the scam list because they assume you live there and might know the approximate fare. But of course that doesn't help tourists.

I dread having that guy there when I need a cab :( If there's a policeman standing by there is never an issue - just jump in and go.

While I'm really sad that the OP got hosed (BIG time) on his taxi ride, I've offered to help him get over that this evening (xlb, foot massage, beer). And, I will try my best to recover the costs of his taxi trip (even if he didn't save his receipt , there are cameras everywhere; we can win this game!).

The driver owes the person that directs them the mark. In any event
they will settle for 2X their con, when caught with documentation that
can prove the ripoff.

Just a cost of doing business.

No difference between here and there, get caught selling bogus products...
pay FDA a fine and avoid criminal prosecution and go on about your business.