Shanghai is the only city in China with two civilian airports – Pudong International Airport and Hongqiao International Airport. You can fly direct from Shanghai to many of the major cities in the world. It is most important to check your ticket to be sure from which airport your flight departs.

Five Metro lines operate in Shanghai. Line 1 stretches from Xinzhuang to Gongfu Xincun, Line 2 from Zhongshan Park to Zhangjiang High-Tech District, Line 3 from Jiangwan Town to Shanghai South Railway Station, Line 5 from Xinzhuang to Minhang Development District. The section of Line 4 from Damuqiao Road Station to Lancun Road Station is still under construction.

Reaching almost every corner of the city, covering all the prosperous areas, the Metro is the fastest and most convenient way to move about in the downtown area. It takes no more than half an hour from Xinzhuang to People's Square. Of course, it is much cheaper than taxis.

There are stations where several Metro lines meet. An interchange station is a station where you can change for other lines without meeting a ticket barrier. A transfer station, however, is one where you have to leave the first line through a ticket barrier and then be charged for another line.

However, the Metro has its disadvantages. It is extremely crowded in rush hours and Line 1 is crowded in whatever hours. Be wary of thieves, both on the train and on the platform, especially when it is extremely crowded.

Shanghai is going to build 10 new Metro lines from 2005 to 2012, stretching 389 kilometers. Total kilometrage of Shanghai Metro System is expected to reach 510 kilometers by 2012, among which 400 kilometers are going to put in use before 2010 Expo. Construction of four of the lines will start this year.

Bus and trolley bus (to be mentioned as just bus below) may be not the best transport for foreigners, but having some knowledge about it will give you an option when you come across a traffic problem, especially when you cannot find a taxi on a rainy day or have no idea where the Metro station is.

Shanghai buses can be extremely crowded in rush hours and some of them are not totally clean. But buses on busy shopping streets or connecting major attractions are in excellent condition and during off-peak hours it is a pleasure to ride in them. Plus, the bigger windows of a bus will give you a better view of the city than taking taxis or subways.

Taking a taxi is a fast and convenient way to get around Shanghai. The city, has the best-managed taxi service in China.

An upright vacancy disk shows the cab is for hire.

Most cabbies know their way around and expertly negotiate the city's busy traffic. Taxis are usually readily available, but hailing one in rush hours is difficult and on rainy days almost impossible. Shanghai's taxis are colorful, unlike New York City's, which are all yellow. Cyan, yellow, white, green, blue, red, dark blue and dark red are the main colors of the taxis in Shanghai and the colors denote different taxi companies. Dark blue and dark red are the colors for the city's hundreds of small and medium taxi companies.

Real taxis have a logo light on the top of the car. Around the driver's seat is a transparent shield protect the driver from robbery. A meter and an illuminated vacancy disk on the dashboard are also necessities for a cab. Without all these things, the taxi is probably unlicensed and you should avoid it, even if the driver solicits you. You have no rights if injured in an unlicensed taxi.

The vacancy disk will help you know which cab is available. When the disk is upright and illuminated showing two Chinese characters -- 空车 -- it means the cab is vacant.