Train:

Each station has lines running to almost all provincial capitals, and to all of
Chinas major cities
There are four kinds of seats available:


soft berths

hard berths

soft seats

and hard seats

Trains are usually fully booked and it is advisable to get a ticket well in
advance There are special ticket counters for foreigners at railway stations
You can choose between taxis and buses for transport in the cities In
Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai there is also the Underground (subway)

Public buses in Chinese towns are overcrowded The fare depends on the
distance, and should be paid to the conductor Public buses are usually easy
to find, and timetables or town maps are available everywhere

Taxi:

Taxi is one of the most convenient means of transportation You can also
hail a taxi in the street The fare is calculated according to the distance or
time and distance for chartered services Taxis may have a surcharge for
waiting or low-speed driving during traffic jams Taking a taxi after 11pm
incurs a 20 percent surcharge on the initial fee

Minibus is a compromise between the relatively expensive taxis and crowded
public transport

Road Names:

The traditional checkerboard of Chinese urban design determines street
names The most important traffic arteries are divided into sectors and laid
out in a grid typically based upon the compass points


Suffixes are added to the primary name to indicate north, south, east or
west, and additionally, to indicate the middle section The middle section is
called zhong; nan means south; bei, north; dong, east; and xi, west A main
road is lu, smaller is jie A small lane is named xiang

Driving

You are allowed to drive if you have an International Driving Permit (IDP)
and residence permit Licenses are dealt with by the Foreigners Division for
Vehicles and the rules for obtaining Chinese driving licenses are varied It is
always necessary to produce the residence permit and health certificate