The nearestairportis at Xiamen, 40km (25 miles) away, and many bus services there pick up and drop off at its entrance. The railway line down to Quanzhou is new, and therailway stationis in the northeast suburbs. Bus nos. 19 and 23 run from the railway station to the center of town. Train tickets are on sale from 6:30 to 11:30am, 1:30 to 5pm, and 6:30 to 8:30pm. Trains to Zhejiang and elsewhere in coastal Fujian have to perform long loops. There are no longer any sleeper trains for Wuyi Shan, for that you have to travel to Xiamen, but the early riser can enjoy the winding mountain line by taking the K955 at 6:32am and arriving at 4:53pm (K9856 and K955: 594km/368 miles; ¥149/$19 hard sleeper, ¥232/$29 soft sleeper).
The main bus station, theKeyun Xin Zhan,is full of yelling louts and has buses to Wuyi Shan (but train is better); to Xiamen (20 departures 6:35am-5:40pm; ¥19-¥20/$2.30-$2.40; luxury bus ¥32/$4); and to Fuzhou (12 departures 8:05am-5:25pm; ¥34-¥41/$4.20-$5). There are also sleeper buses to Jiangxi destinations, Taishun, Wenzhou, Shaoxing, and Hangzhou. Some express buses to Xiamen drop off passengers at the airport entrance. Some luxury services from and to Fuzhou terminate next to theHuaqiao Dasha,as do luxury buses to Shenzhen (tel.0595/2228-7158) and a daily bus to Guangzhou and Zhuhai for Macau (tel.0139/6022-9688). The same Huaqiao Dasha office has tickets forflightsfrom Xiamen (tel.0595/2218-2573).
Getting Around
While most youngsters seem to have bicycles with strange plastic spokes, older motorcyclists will beep at you and wave spare helmets until you want to hit them. Jettataxisare ¥6 (75¢) for 2km (1 1/4 miles), then ¥1.60 (20¢) per kilometer up to 4km (2 1/2 miles), then ¥1.80 (25¢) per kilometer up to 30km (19 miles), then ¥2 (25¢) per kilometer up to 50km (31 miles), and after that, ¥2.20 (30¢) per kilometer. At night, from 11pm to 5am, rates begin at ¥1.80 (25¢) per kilometer. To get to the suburbs,busescharge a flat fare of ¥1 (15¢) on entry; buses without air-conditioning but with conductors charge ¥2 (25¢).
Visitor Information
For complaints, call tel.0595/2227-4888.
Fast Facts
Banks, Foreign Exchange & ATMs-- The main branch of theBank of China(8-11am and 2:30-6pm) is in Fengze Jie just west of the Xiamen Airlines Hotel. Counter 14 handles checks and credit card withdrawals; it also handles cash exchanges during the same hours. ATMs at branches around town all accept foreign cards.
Internet Access-- TheDadi Wangba(open 8am-3am; ¥2-¥3/25¢-40¢ per hour) is just east of the PSB on Dong Lu. TheHuanqiu Wangbais at Zhuangyuan Jie 127, and anotherwangbais opposite it at no. 138. Both are full of chain-smoking youngsters hurling obscenities at each other. A quieter alternative, with two dozen or so PCs, is the public library at Donghu Lu 752 (open 8-11:30am and 2:30-10pm; ¥2/25¢ per hour). Dial-up is tel.8163.
Post Office-- The main post office (open 8am-8pm) is at Wenling Bei Lu 209, at the junction of Jiuyi Lu.
Visa Extensions-- Extensions are harder to obtain here than in most places. ThePSBon Dong Hu Lu (tel.0591/2218-0323;open Mon-Fri 8-11am and 3-6pm) requires evidence of the possession of $100 per day, for a single extension of up to 30 days.