10 Days Visa-Free: Shanghai to Hong Kong on 240-Hour Transit
A route designed around the 240-hour transit rules for travellers who need them: arrive in Shanghai, travel through Suzhou, Hangzhou and Guangzhou, and exit to Hong Kong.
Photo: Nissangeniss · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
- Route
- Shanghai → Suzhou → Hangzhou → Guangzhou → Hong Kong
- Best for
- US and other transit-eligible passport holders; anyone combining China with Hong Kong
- Pace
- Moderate
About this route
For passport holders who are not on China’s 30-day visa-free list — including US citizens — the 240-hour visa-free transit is the easiest way in. It requires that you continue to a third country or region: Hong Kong counts.
This route stays within Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong, all inside the permitted stay area, and finishes in Hong Kong well inside the 240-hour limit. You can then fly home from Hong Kong or continue elsewhere in Asia.
The itinerary
- Day 1
Arrive Shanghai, apply for transit stay
At immigration, tell the officer you are using 240-hour transit and show your onward ticket from Hong Kong (or from Guangzhou to a third country). Evening on the Bund.
Field note: The 240 hours count from 00:00 on the day after you land.
- Days 2–3
Shanghai
Yu Garden, the Shanghai Museum, the former French Concession and the Lujiazui towers. A soup-dumpling crawl on day 3.
- Day 4
Suzhou
Humble Administrator’s Garden at opening, Suzhou Museum, an evening on Pingjiang Road.
- Days 5–6
Hangzhou
West Lake at dawn, Lingyin Temple, and the Longjing tea villages. Day 6 can be a side trip to Wuzhen water town.
- Day 7
Fly to Guangzhou
Afternoon in Shamian Island and a Pearl River night cruise.
- Day 8
Guangzhou food day
Morning dim sum, the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, roast goose in Liwan.
- Day 9
Train to Hong Kong
Exit mainland China at the co-located border control inside West Kowloon station. Evening Star Ferry and Victoria Peak.
- Day 10
Hong Kong and onward
Fly home or onward from Hong Kong International.
Before you book
- Your proof of onward travel must be a confirmed ticket with a date and seat, not an open ticket.
- Keep the itinerary inside the permitted areas — this route does.
- Hong Kong sets its own entry rules; check them for your passport.
Regions on this route: Yangtze Delta, South China. See also how to book trains and the visa checker.
Cities on this route
Shanghai
China’s most international city: the Bund, art deco neighbourhoods, world-class museums and an hour by train to classical Suzhou and Hangzhou.
Suzhou
Classical gardens, canals and silk — the most refined small-scale beauty in China, half an hour from Shanghai.
Hangzhou
West Lake’s causeways and pagodas, Longjing tea villages and Lingyin Temple — a city Marco Polo is said to have called the finest in the world.
Guangzhou
The home of Cantonese food and dim sum, two thousand years of trading history and an easy gateway between Hong Kong and the rest of China.
FAQ
Does arriving in Shanghai and leaving from Hong Kong count as transit?
Yes. Hong Kong is treated as a separate region for the 240-hour policy, so mainland China → Hong Kong is a valid onward journey.
Want this itinerary adapted to you built around your dates, pace and interests? Tell us what you have in mind and our desk will reply within 24 hours.
Commission a Private China Proposal
Tell us your travel window, interests, or hospital checkup requirements. Our specialists will return a tailored route blueprint — zero obligation.
