Transportation

TAXIS are plentiful in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing etc. In smaller cities, you need to arrange taxis through the hotel as taxi are on-call basis. Fares vary and meters are not always used, however all drivers will give receipts - insist on the receipt.
Take care to aboard only authorised taxi with driver's license displayed prominently at front dashboard - this is especially so in smaller cities where "proaching" at airport or railway station is rampant. In major cities like Shanghai and Beijing, there are designated taxi queue, hence such problem is rare.
Few cabbies speak English so you should have addresses written in Chinese.
In China, the taxis are not so spacious. So avoid big luggages. You can purchase most items cheaply in China.

SUBWAYS are available in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Throughout the country there are also plenty of bus and trolley services, however they are invariably crowded during peak office hours.

TRAIN ride offers an insight into the country and its people. Train ride has been improving in China and there are now some excellent new services. Among them are double-deck expresses between Beijing and Tianjin, and from Shanghai to Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi and Nanjing. Long-distance trains tend to be slow and unpunctual however soft-seat class is quite comfortable (and inexpensive). Example of rate :- a soft-seat class from Shanghai to Suzhou costs US$ 4 (about 100 km ride).
Train tickets cannot be reserved in advance. It is sold at train counter (just like cinema tickets). In large stations, there are some special queue for foreigners to purchase tickets, but it saves a lot of time and confusion to have the hotel's concierge make the purchase for you. The service charge is well worth it.

DOMESTIC AIR travel is much easier than in the past, with several regional airlines providing interlocking networks. However there are still not enough flights to meet the demand, so make reservations as early as possible. Domestic flights are plentiful and you can book seats quite easily through the hotel's conceirge. The domestic rates are controlled by central government, so there are little discount variation to warrant too much time shopping for lowest fares. Hence, book your domestic flight tickets more conveniently at your hotel of stay - through hotel conceirge - 1 to 2 days advance booking is sufficient.

INTERNATIONAL AIR services are shown in the map. The airlines on these routes have offices in gateway cities. In Shanghai, all international flights land in Pudong International Airport (from Oct '02).

NOTE: Departure taxes are charged for all domestic and international flights. They vary from place to place - RMB90 is typical for international, RMB50 for domestic - so be sure to have some Chinese currency handy.

INTERNATIONAL and REGIONAL RAIL AND ROAD access is available at certain border points. The most convenient is the express train service between Hong Kong and Guangzhou. There are four round-trips a day, and the journey takes about two hours. There is also regular bus service between the two cities, via the new Super Highway. They take three and a half hours. Hong Kong's rail system has commuter service to the border at Lowu, where passengers walk across the bridge to Shenzhen. The train takes 40 minutes but the volume of traffic often mean a long wait at immigration on both sides.

For the adventurous, there are trains to Beijing from Moscow, via Mongolia and from Kazakhstan via Urumqi. The very adventurous, who don't mind delays and discomfort, can also take buses from Nepal into Tibet, from Pakistan into Xinjiang and from Vietnam into Yunnan.

ARRIVING BY SEA is possible at various ports. Many people take coastal overnight ferries from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, Shantou, Xiamen and Hainan. There are also fast catamaran ferries from Hong Kong to ports throughout the Pear River Delta. In addition several cruise ships on Asian itineraries include calls at Shanghai and Tianjin. Nanjing, Yantai and Dalian are occasional ports of call.