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shanghai maglev

Shanghai has the first Magnetic Levitation (MagLev) train in China. It runs to the Shanghai Pudong Airpoort.
I took it in late April, 2004. It IS all that.

A trip that takes 35 minutes by bus reduced to about 8 minutes. Live, in real time, set to the music of The Cranberries and R.E.M.

Read about it here:

Video: Shanghai MagLev (46 MB - 8'10")

DIRECTIONS TO AND FROM DOWNTOWN SHANGHAI TO PUDONG AIRPORT

To get from the central downtown area of Shanghai (Nanjing East Road-People's Square), take the #2 Subway Line to Pudong. It ends at the LongYang Station. Exit the Subway station, cross the driveway to the futuristic (actually, the future is now) MagLev Station. Show an outbound airline ticket and pay 40 RMB for the MagLev ride. (Adventurists who just want to take the ride pay 50 RMB.) Prices are one-way. The train leaves about every 12 - 15 minutes but stops running at 4:30 p.m.

If you are coming to Shanghai through Pudong Airport, here's how it works: When you exit the Arrivals area, follow the signs on the second level to the MagLev Station. Show your airline ticket and pay 40 RMB (no ticket, pay 50RMB). The MagLev will take you to it's other terminus at LongYang Station. Exit the train station, cross the driveway, and enter the LongYang Subway Station. From there, the #2 Line Subway will take you to downtown Shanghai (Nanjing East Road-People's Square) in about 20 minutes.

Subway signs are in English and Chinese. While these routes are convenient in general, the subways can get jammed at rush hour. So if you are lugging a a lot of luggage to or from Pudong Airport, Caveat Rider.