Good news: if you're vegan and have a layover in Shanghai Pudong airport, you won't go hungry. Most information I could find about vegan options in this airport reference terminal 2, the domestic terminal, but this post focuses on those transiting internationally with a layover in terminal 1.
A vegan friendly meal in Shanghai Airport
For a hot vegan meal, head straight to You Zhi Lan at the end of the terminal closest to security and order their mushroom noodles. They're not earth shattering, but it's a hearty, nutritious, and filling meal. The soup contains wheat noodles, yuba, carrots, gluten puffs, greens, and mushrooms (wood ear, snow fungus, and shiitake). This was ¥58 (about £6.50 at the time of writing), or ¥78 with lemon black tea. I believe they are open until around 23:30, but don't quote me on that.
A few places sell potato items, though I didn't ask for any specifics about seasonings and how they're cooked. Lizen Garden has potato wedges. Blue Frog has fries and sweet potato fries.
Vegan snacks
There are plenty of vegan snacks available. I found dragon beard candy, peanut brittle, roasted chestnuts, and some flavoured peanuts on a quick wander through a random shop. Hudson Market was even more promising, with both gluten and konjac (vegetarian tripe) snacks, plus 8 spice peanuts, spicy peanuts, dried fruits, smaller bags of chestnuts, and some other bits. I'm pretty sure I spotted some strange flavour peanuts as well, but I was desperate for coffee so I moved on.
SeeSaw provides legit decent coffee in an airport. I enjoyed a sparkling americano and there was an oat milk latte on the menu as well. They also sell sea buckthorn juice, an unusual but pleasant find.
If you're a fan of adult beverages, you'll be pleased to know there are multiple venues selling poured pints.
Another option, especially now many passports don't require visas in advance of arrival in China, is to exit the airport and go to terminal 1, which has a vegetarian restaurant before security. I couldn't be arsed, but with six hours it would be totally doable.
China Eastern vegan meal from Heathrow
I was able to select vegan meals on the China Eastern website, but I needed a translation tool to figure out what was what. I broke my no booking via third party sites rule this time, so I can also confirm you don't need to have booked directly with MU in order to access your booking on their site.
I'm always grateful when my pre-ordered vegan meals are loaded onto the flight. Dinner reminded me of when I first announced to my family at age 12 that I would no longer eat meat. My mother, worried my choice might deprive me of life, took it upon herself one day to make a stir fry of frozen broccoli and silken tofu. This, my mother's inaugural stir fry and my first lesson in how to convert a wok into a culinary hospice, came back to me as I peeled the foil off my tray in 41J.
That first meal consisted of corn, peas and green beans in sauce made by people who believe tomato is a colour rather than a flavour, rice in the middle, and stewed bell peppers with the same insipid rigour as the rest. The sides were fruit salad and a pot with cucumbers, two crimson wedges that looked like tomatoes and tasted of a deep sigh, and a few leaves. No dressing. Breakfast was marginally better and comprised random cooked vegetables with Britain's only seasoning: salt. At least there were a few spears of asparagus in there. Mostly I want to congratulate the Heathrow catering team for somehow making potatoes unpalatable. More fruit salad.
No matter, because every seasoned vegan traveller knows to pack snacks. I erased that vomit-like bell pepper aftertaste with some chocolate.
Complaints aside, China Eastern is a perfectly adequate airline, seats were comfortable, and staff were friendly and competent on both of my flights. I intentionally booked to travel over my birthday in order to avoid people trying to celebrate it at me despite the fact that I tell them every year I don't, but I selected the only airline I've ever travelled with that celebrates the birthdays of passengers. In addition to a card, crew brought me a slice of some description of cake. When I declined for reasons of vegan, they insisted on bringing me some kind of treat. "How about some jasmine tea?" they eventually suggested. Sure, I said, and it was somehow one of the most fragrant cups of tea I've ever had (I am open to the possibility this indicates a woeful lack of tea experience on my part). It wasn't their standard drink cart pour - I suspect it came out of the non plebeian classes up front. Anyway, it was a kind gesture and it made me giggle.
On my second flight they again brought me a signed card and this time a sizeable (for an airline) fruit tray, which was surprisingly palatable. Watermelon, pineapple, dragon fruit, some other melon.
A few other things of note
If you don't want to spend money on food in Shanghai Pudong, pack instant noodles and eating implements. Water dispensers in transport hubs in China provide hot water as well, so instant noodles are always doable.
Buy an eSim in advance. It's cheap to buy a one day eSim (mine was about 60p for 1 gig of data over 24 hours) and it means you'll have reliable internet during your transit, with access to Meta and Google apps. You may struggle to access them with airport Wifi. Access to reliable data also means you are prepared to scan and translate ingredient lists on snack packets, which have ingredients written in Chinese since Shanghai is in China.
Unlike the grim hellscape that is Heathrow Terminal 4, PVG terminal 1 is spacious with plenty of seating and charging ports. You'll be able to find whole rows to yourself, and if you want an extra quiet location head downstairs to the lower gates. I plopped myself at gates 215/216 for an hour and the only other folks around were a handful of airport staff on break. It's also blissfully quiet. If you're used to the infuriating din of US airports, you might not even know you're in one.
If you want proper sleep, there are sleep pods you can rent at the far end of the main terminal, upstairs.