I Love the Garage in Hongqiao T2

The highlight of the new Hongqiao Airport T2 is the garage. There are plenty of them – not worried about parking any more.

Where is the Garage – P7 and P6

Look at this diagram below:

The horizontal yellow area on the right is the Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2. The yellow area in the middle is the East Transportation Hub, where the Parking Area P6 (at north) and P7 (at south) is located. At the B1 of this giant building is the Metro Station of Hongqiao Airport T2 for Metro Line #2 and #10 (opened Q4 this year).

Below are the few highlights of this new garage.

Fruit Signs

I love the designs that shows caring for people, although it does not cost too much.

Since there are so many parking lots in the Hongqiao Transportation Hub (not only the Hongqiao Airport, but also the future Maglev Station, and the Hongqiao Train Station), it is so easy to forget where the car is parked.

They designed signs like fruits and animals to help people to remember where the car is.

The first floor of P7 is banana – my favorite fruit!

© Jian Shuo Wang

I don’t know if other people feel like myself – I feel happy to park my car in a banana area, instead of F1 of P7.

Below: Goudnaner and my favorite fruit: banana. This way, there is no way for me to forget where the car is at. I even guess the next time, I will intentionally choose to park at banana level, not the water melon level.

© Jian Shuo Wang

Courtyard

Another great design I like for this new garage is the courtyards. In the middle of P6 and P7, there is a courtyard. It is like a well, allowing sun light to pour down into the garage. It also gives people a little bit sense of direction to help them find their cars quicker.

They also have nice plants in the courtyard – absolutely the highlights of this new terminal.

Trolleys

They also have plenty of trolleys lined up in the parking lot. You can easily get a trolley to move your luggage out of the car to the check-in counter.

Nicely Arranged Cars

Look at this: the garage looks clean and nice. I give 5 star out of 5 for it.

Below are the cars in the garage – many very nice cars. I know this is not a feature of the garage itself.

Another Simple Feature: Pedestrian

They have designated pedestrian path in the garage! The nice little sign for pedestrian and direction of signs. They list the signs like those hotel rooms – it guide you step by step along the way.

It first let you know all parking lots between 3000 and 3100 should go this way, and give you branches with numbers to the left, and the rest to the right. Very nice job indeed!

P6

P6 and P7 is a little bit different in garden design, AND fruit/animal signs, making it easier to distinguish the two.

Stairs

The stairs of the parking lots used the design common in US, but not very common in Shanghai: the stair cases with stripes.

It can be scary if you look down, and you always worry about the installation of the tiles. But, it is simple and cool.

Summary

Although I have many negative comments, like the taxi lines, for Hongqiao Airport T2, I will give my two thumbs up for this garage design. I have a feeling that the garage is designed by a different company than other buildings. Can anyone confirm or deny it? I love this garage – definitely one of the best one in Shanghai at this scale.

3 thoughts on “I Love the Garage in Hongqiao T2

  1. JS,

    Great post with useful information! I agree with you on the well-thought signs and designs. I found most of the garages in the U.S. are user friendly offering many signs which are self explainatory and easily show drivers ingress and egress where to park and how to exit. Often there’s no attendants in the parking lots, so having good directions is a must.

    I’ve been traveling outside China now and have not checked my emails for 3-4 days. I don’t know if you have posted any article on taking taxis at T2. Although Metro #2 has a stop at Hongqiao Airport, Shanghai’s metro carts do not offer luggage racks. Going up and down the floors can be a real problem. And there are many pickpocketer at the stations and inside the carts, things can easily be stolen, especially when it’s so damn crowded inside the cart. Taking taxis would still be the #1 choice for passengers. I hope the City of Shanghai has harsh penalties for taxi drivers who refuse to take passengers whose destinations are not that far. I had a terrible experience in Beijing 4-5 years ago when I got out of the train station and wanted to go to the Grand Hyatt, which I was told later on is close to the train station. Beijing’s taxis drivers left me such a terrible impressions of the city I haven’t been back there since.

    TW

  2. At Amsterdam airport they use signs at the Parking that are related to Holland, for example wooden shoes, cows, tulips etc.

    I do not agree with TW that the metro is not convenient. I am very happy that we can now take the metro from Hongqiao. I have been using metro in Shanghai for years and have never had anything stolen. Just watch your belongings and you’ll be fine. Also most stations have escalators and elevators which makes it easy to go up or down.

    As Hongqiao is mostly domestic flight, many people do not have big suitcases, just small trolleys and it won’t be a problem taking the metro.

    Taxis in Shanghai are not allowed to refuse you. Just get in and tell your detination and they will take you there. Sometimes they complain a bit but that’s all. I have never been refused a ride even though I live only 18rmb from Hongqiao airport.

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