Shanghai Stopover

The big-ticket item is genuinely free: China Eastern covers a 1-night stay at a 3-star hotel in Shanghai. But "free" has edges worth knowing: you still typically pay for meals beyond anything included, any city or tourist tax, and a transit-visa fee if your passport needs one. Compare the total fare too: adding a stopover doesn't always cost the same as a plain connection.

Passengers flying China Eastern on a ticket issued by the airline, with a qualifying layover in PVG between 6 and 24 hours. Eligible booking classes: see airline. One free night at a designated hotel for international transit passengers through Shanghai, when the connection exceeds 6 hours and you take the earliest onward flight within 24 hours (free night for flights arriving before 03:00). Ticket must be plated '781' with every segment on China Eastern (MU) or Shanghai Airlines (FM); booking classes A/O/G/X and award/redeemed tickets are excluded. Also offered at Beijing, Kunming, Nanjing and Wuxi. The English web application form currently redirects — apply via the China Eastern app or the PVG transit desk. China's 240-hour visa-free transit applies separately.

Your connection in PVG should fall between 6 and 24 hours. Two things travelers get caught by: flight-search sites usually show the shortest connection by default, and that's often too short to qualify. You may need to deliberately pick a longer-layover flight. And the layover shown isn't all usable: clearing immigration and any baggage steps eats into it, so give yourself comfortable margin above the 6-hour minimum.

Stopover programs are run by the airline, so the safest route is a ticket booked directly with China Eastern on an eligible fare. Award and miles tickets, and bookings made through online travel agencies or other third-party sites, often follow different rules: sometimes they don't qualify, sometimes the stopover has to be arranged another way. Before booking like that, confirm directly with China Eastern that your specific ticket type is eligible.

To leave the airport for your stopover you must meet China's transit or entry rules, and this matters before you even fly: if your passport requires a transit visa and you don't have one, the airline can deny boarding. The good news: many nationalities get visa-free transit, visa-on-arrival, or a quick e-visa, and some stopover programs include the transit visa. Select your nationality on this page to see the exact requirement for China, and arrange any visa well before departure.

Airlines do sometimes adjust schedules after you book. A change can shorten or lengthen your layover. If it drops the connection below the 6-hour minimum, or past the maximum, it can affect your eligibility. If you get a schedule-change notice, re-check your layover against the program's window and contact China Eastern to rebook or re-confirm the stopover. It's worth re-checking your itinerary a few days before departure.

On a single China Eastern ticket, your checked bags are normally tagged straight through to your final destination, so you head into Shanghai with just your carry-on, and your luggage continues on the onward flight. You'd only collect and re-check bags if part of your trip is on a separate ticket. If you'd like a checked bag with you for the overnight stay, ask China Eastern when you arrange the stopover.

Most stopover programs allow only one stopover per round-trip — on either the outbound or the return leg, not both. A few carriers are more flexible. Confirm with China Eastern whether your specific itinerary can include a stopover on each leg before planning two stops.

China Eastern assigns the hotel — typically a 3-star property in or near Shanghai — rather than letting you choose a specific one, though premium-cabin passengers are often placed in higher-tier hotels. The exact property is confirmed when you arrange the stopover.

Apply through the China Eastern mobile app (transit/stopover hotel) or, if the web form fails, at the PVG international transfer/transit desk on arrival. Provide your '781' ticket number, name and onward flight details, then take the designated hotel's shuttle. Don't confuse it with the separate free PVG-SHA inter-airport shuttle.

Up to 1 days. You can extend your layover without paying additional airfare, as long as it fits within the program's rules.