This would be my first time flying on China Eastern. Unlike checkin, the bag drop area was deserted and we therefore used the self-checkin machines which worked well and we were done in minutes.
Going through security I didn't bother pulling my iPad or Kindle out and no one seemed to care either. I did set the metal detector off but all the guy did was wave the wand thing at my pockets and let me go. It was only later I realised I hadn't bagged my liquids either. Oh well, pretty laid back.
It was all going so well ... passport control again was trying on the nerves. It was even worse than arrivals with a small cramped area of desks with a long straight line at each. In order to get to the lines there was tensabarrier city and the lines facing us had filled and left the tensa barrier section too - nightmare. It took around 50 mins in total to clear passport control.
Past passport control and the shops put LHR to shame, there are a huge number! What was noticable was how expensive everything seemed to be (vs LHR and HK city centre) so passed on buying anything.
With time to kill we headed to the Gate 1 Priority Pass lounge. Didn't hang around long as it was dark with no windows and poor lighting and a cash bar! With our Gate being at the extreme end of the terminal we knew it was going to be a trek even after leaving the train so we headed there with time to spare. There were already 20 odd passengers queueing to board (a la Easyjet) when we arrived despite everyone having allocated seats and signs displaying that rows would be called in order. My wife insisted we also queue despite my protestations saying the Chinese don't care about the rules and it'd be every man for himself. After 20 odd minutes boarding began and bless her she was right, we boarded in queue order! Thank goodness we queued as a lot of passengers had clearly done some big spending in the terminal and by the time boarding was completed every overhead bin was crammed.
I reckon the flight was almost full so we were very lucky to get 3 seats for ourselves on the Airbus A321. The captain came on to apologise that there would be a 30 minute delay due to congestion which caused some protests and toilet queueing! It must've only been around 10mins before pushback began however.
The seatback magazine was excellent, full of interesting articles and photos. I didn't bother opening the complimentary headphones to watch the overhead IFE as the main programme was circus performing brown/black bears which doesn't hold much interest for me! A full drinks and lunch service was performed and the level of English of the cabin crew was excellent. The excellence continued with the food where I ate everything - a delicious chicken and rice dish.
The approach into the airport was interesting flying very low over housing - this being my first time into Hongqiao whereas Pudong approach is pretty much sea and fields.
We were staight on gate into the original T1 (think Belfast City for size and feeling) but it was completely adequate and not a soul at passport control with 4 beaming smiles longing me to walk to them! What a contrast to the awful passport control at Hong Kong
The layout outside the terminal reminds me of LHR T3 with arrivals and departures on the same level at 90 degrees to each other with taxi pickup outside. The Volkswagen Santana was immaculate and we were soon arriving at my father in law's place to spend Chinese New Year ...
Comment: One thing I did notice was the requirement to turn electronic equipment off was widely flouted with people using phones as the plane approached landing and the familiy in front listening to music on their wired headphones.
We always think the US and ourselves have things sewn up 
