1)Currency exchange - definitely the easiest and quickest way to do it, not to mention best rate, is to exchange at airport in Shanghai or the currency exchange there. They have one at the baggage carousel, so you can do it while you are waiting for your baggage.
2)Once in town, they have made it super easy to exchange money at banks. There is a green and grey symbol at a lot of banks and some shops.
3)You should also check out your hotel currency exchange. The hotel I was staying at offered currency exchange at no cost, using the Bank of China exchange rates. It was so easy and totally different from a lot of the information I had read beforehand about how changing money can be difficult and not easily available.
4)Taxis are very easy. However trip is long, an hour to central Shanghai. Cost at October 2010 is around 150-200 yuan.
5)If you compare cost of taxi versus Maglev, taxi is probably cheaper if there are 3 traveling, if 2, it is a closer call.
6) If time is important catch the Maglev, it takes only 8 minutes to town. Plus if you travel in peak hour, will probably be more efficient, as being stuck in traffic may well add to your time and the cost of the fare.
7) You might also want to catch Maglev if you are a train buff, apparently it travels at over 400 miles an hour.
8) You can use your airline ticket for a discount in price.
9) Always useful to have your destination written in Chinese characters. Many taxi drivers do not speak any English.
10)At the airport, the maps you can pick up for free are detailed and very useful when working out where you want to go while in town.
and one extra general tip for finding your way around
11) Don't use an old guide book, the conventions for street names seemed to have changed over the past 3 years and can prove quite confusing.
Joanne Kee
www.placesandspaces.com.au
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