[Photo/Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism]

Shanghai offers international transit passengers whose transfer time exceeds eight hours its first "free half-day tour" program, reported the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.

The influential travel platform, Trip.com Group, also known as Ctrip, launched the unprecedented program on April 15, which includes free transportation, foreign language-speaking guides, and internet service, as well as foreign currency exchange.

In addition, the company offers more discounts, such as tourism products for buy one, get one free and global flash sales for flight tickets.

Zhang Chengjie, overseas marketing director of Ctrip, said that the company hopes this program will attract more tourists coming to Shanghai.

To participate, passengers must choose a suitable route based on their transit time at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. All three routes start and end at the airport and are a maximum of six hours long.

After arriving at the airport, passengers must head to the CTrip foreign currency exchange counter located at Island A on the third floor of Terminal T2, near Gate 21 on the departure floor. The professional tour guides will assist with registration at the meeting point and accompany passengers full-time.

To ensure high-quality travel experiences, each route is limited to 10 people on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Recommended routes

• Route one (9 am - 2 pm): Shanghai Pudong International Airport - Yuyuan Garden - The Bund - Shanghai Pudong International Airport
• Route two (4 pm - 10 pm): Shanghai Pudong International Airport - The Bund - Wukang Road - Yuyuan Garden - The Bund - Shanghai Pudong International Airport
• Route three (6 pm - 11 pm): Shanghai Pudong International Airport - Cruise on the Huangpu River - Yuyuan Garden - Shanghai Pudong International Airport

Source: Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism